Source: Radio New Zealand
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell. VNP / Phil Smith
The Prime Minister says there is no need for a further inquiry into the Jevon McSkimming scandal, claiming the government’s implementation of an Inspector General is the strongest response.
On Sunday, former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told TVNZ’s Q+A that ministers knew more than they had admitted about McSkimming.
Coster claimed he had briefed former Police Minister Chris Hipkins and current Police Minister Mark Mitchell about the allegations before both said they were aware.
Both Hipkins and Mitchell have denied Coster’s claims.
Mitchell told Morning Report it was “absolute total nonsense,” and that he did not know anything about the allegations before 6 November 2024.
Christopher Luxon has expressed confidence in Mitchell and his timeline of events.
“You can go through the process story of who said what, when, and where, but from my point of view the matter’s settled. Mark’s addressed the issues, I’m very comfortable with that. I think he’s doing an exceptionally good job,” Luxon said.
A further inquiry – such as a Royal Commission – was not needed, Luxon said, as the government’s focus was on responding to the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report’s findings and making sure it did not happen again.
“No, what we need to do is jump to the solution that any inquiry would generate, which is to give us the strongest statutory oversight mechanism possible, which is that of an Inspector General of Police,” Luxon said.
Acknowledging Hipkins had also come out to deny Coster’s allegations, Luxon said Hipkins and Mitchell had taken the same approach.
“That’s not their recollection of events at all. And I think we have to trust them with that.”
Hipkins said he had spent time over the weekend “reflecting” on conversations he had with Coster while he was Police Minister, and could not recall any where it came up.
Coster’s claim that he told Hipkins in the back of a car while the two were travelling around the South Island “simply never happened,” Hipkins said.
“Certainly not on the road trip that we did across the country, nor at any other time. So I don’t know what he’s referring to there, but he clearly never provided me with any briefing of the allegations surrounding Jevon McSkimming.”
An informal conversation in the back of a car would have been insufficient anyway, as there was an obligation from the Police Commissioner to disclose what he knew during the formal appointment process.
“One of the observations that I would have from this is that there did appear to be a culture within the Police of downplaying the significance of any of these allegations,” Hipkins said.
Whether there was a need for a further inquiry was up to the government, Hipkins said, but he would support any decision they took in that regard.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said it was important system failures were fixed, and for the harm of victims and survivors to be centred.
“I’m hearing a lot of them protecting themselves. I suppose that’s natural, but I would really like to hear any voices involved, especially men in power, to really direct their voices back to fixing the system and to supporting victim survivors.”
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi wanted an investigation separate from the IPCA, now that allegations were coming out after its release.
“If there are facts coming outside of the IPCA, then obviously the IPCA report hasn’t done its thorough job. There should be another external process, like a Royal Commission, into that particular issue, to ensure that we’re getting all the facts, also taking into consideration the IPCA report but also those other allegations that are coming in afterwards so we’ve got a full picture.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
