Ministerial Statements — Independent Police Conduct Authority—Report on the Review of Police Handling of Complaints Against Jevon McSkimming

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wish to make a ministerial statement on the report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) into their review of police handling of complaints against Jevon McSkimming. I want to acknowledge the Independent Police Conduct Authority for their comprehensive work on the report. Complaints were referred to the IPCA on 10 October 2024 that included allegations of sexual interaction without consent, threats to use an intimate visual recording, and misuse of a police credit card and police property to further a sexual relationship. These included both allegations of criminal conduct and potential breaches of the police code of conduct. The allegations arose from a sexual relationship between the complainant and Jevon McSkimming that developed in 2016.

The IPCA’s findings reveal significant flaws in decision making, judgment, and actions, and are made in respect of a very small group of people in the former police executive, including the former Commissioner of Police, two deputy police commissioners, and an assistant police commissioner. The IPCA found that no effective action was taken when a comment was made on social media at the time of McSkimming’s appointment as a deputy police commissioner.

It found that no action was taken by senior police officers after the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre recommended referral of the allegations contained in hundreds of emails, three 105 reports, and a social media comment to the National Integrity Unit and the IPCA. Complaints made to 105 about police officers are required by statute and agreement to be notified to the IPCA. This was not done. The only action taken was to investigate and prosecute the complainant under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

When a preliminary investigation was initiated, the terms of reference were inappropriately worded and did not comply with police’s adult sexual assault policy. The matter, when referred to the IPCA, saw the then police commissioner attempt to influence the nature and extent of the IPCA’s investigation and its time frame. Others in police perceived this as a clear attempt to ensure the investigation did not impact McSkimming’s prospects of being appointed as his successor.

The IPCA also found that there were repeated failures and inadequacies by the then police commissioner to disclose information relating to the allegations to the Public Service Commission during processes for McSkimming’s appointment to his first statutory deputy role and then later around his potential appointment as acting police commissioner.

The behaviour outlined in the report is utterly disgraceful. We cannot forget that at the very core of this is a woman who was severely let down by the previous police executive and the system. As a father of daughters and an uncle of nieces, I cannot express how frustrated and disappointed I have been since becoming aware of the situation. In making this statement, I want to acknowledge those staff highlighted in the review as having showed exceptional moral courage. They have done themselves, their colleagues, and their organisation proud.

I also want to acknowledge the 15,000 dedicated men and women in police who serve and protect our communities with distinction and bravery every day. I’m incredibly proud of our outstanding front-line staff. They have, as Commissioner Chambers has said, been let down. I can assure her and all New Zealanders that the Government is taking these findings extremely seriously. On becoming police Minister, I have been unequivocal in my expectations of police that conduct and integrity must be held at the highest standard across the police service.

I have acted decisively at every juncture. On 6 November 2024, Andrew Coster informed me that there was an IPCA investigation into Jevon McSkimming surrounding an affair that he had had and that had soured. He informed me that there was a female before the courts for harassing McSkimming. The narrative I was presented was consistent with the narrative highlighted in the IPCA report that McSkimming was a victim. I want to stress that at this stage this is all I or the Government knew.

The IPCA investigation raised questions as to whether McSkimming was fit and proper to carry out the duties of acting police commissioner. Given that Coster was soon to leave the police and having been appointed to another role, the following day, I met with the Public Service Commission and the Solicitor-General. I was concerned about McSkimming’s ongoing fit and proper person status in relation to his current warrant and the ongoing prosecution of the complainant.

I met again with both parties on 13 November raising similar concerns. On 14 November, I wrote to acting commissioner Tania Kura to highlight my concern that investigations are properly and carefully conducted to form the basis for advising the Prime Minister of McSkimming’s fit and proper person status. I received a reply the next day that it had been agreed that McSkimming would be placed on special leave.

On 11 December, further information was elevated to me by the new commissioner about the police investigation into the complaints against McSkimming. I instructed the Public Service Commission to commence a process to suspend McSkimming’s warrant pending the result of that investigation. The warrant was suspended on 23 December 2024.

In early May this year, I was informed of another investigation surrounding objectionable material found on McSkimming’s police laptop. On learning of this, I advised the Public Service Commission that I was no longer satisfied that he remained a fit and proper person to hold statutory office. Three days later, this information was presented to McSkimming, and the following Monday, 12 May, he chose to resign. If he had not done that, his warrant would have been revoked.

The New Zealand police enjoy strong public trust and confidence. It is imperative that this trust is maintained, and that comes with strong action on the part of the Government and the police. The Government and the police have accepted the IPCA’s recommendations. These adverse findings should not be seen as a reflection on our police service as a whole. Like most Kiwis and our police officers, I’m extremely disappointed at what has been revealed by this report. I want the public to be assured that this Government takes this seriously and is working to do everything we need to do to prevent this happening again. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It is clear from the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report that senior police failed the woman at the centre of this report, and they also failed New Zealanders. It is inexcusable and a complete failure of duty. The handling of these complaints did not meet the standards of transparency, fairness, or independence expected of New Zealand Police. The report shows that internal processes were influenced by rank and relationships rather than by impartiality and professionalism.

When a woman is brave enough to come forward with serious allegations against a senior officer, she should be treated with respect and have confidence that her complaint will be investigated without fear or favour. That did not happen. This was not just a failure of process; it was a failure of leadership, accountability, and duty to the public of New Zealand. Police now have a significant job ahead of them to restore public confidence. The integrity of our police is built on public trust. Every day, New Zealanders rely on police to uphold the law, protect our communities, and respond to moments of crisis. That relationship only works if people believe that police act impartially, regardless of rank, regardless of reputation. When misconduct by senior officers is mishandled, it damages that trust. It makes it harder for victims to come forward.

The IPCA has made it clear that while many parts of the organisation operate with integrity, the systems at the top are not yet strong enough to ensure accountability in every case. Rebuilding confidence will require visible, sustained action, not just words. With that, I believe the culture within the New Zealand Police needs to change to make sure this never happens again. The IPCA’s report acknowledges that the organisation has made major progress since 2007, with the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, led by Dame Margaret Bazley. That inquiry made 60 recommendations to strengthen ethics, independence, and complaint processes. Police did respond. They established a code of conduct, ethics training, and policies to ensure independence in investigations. The AuditorGeneral monitored progress for 10 years, and further reviews in 2017 and 2022 recognise substantial improvements, but it is important, as the IPCA itself notes, that while police have made significant advances towards a more positive culture since the Bazley inquiry, the findings graphically demonstrate that the settings in place to protect and enhance integrity are still not sufficiently robust to enable the public to have confidence that police will do their job without fear or favour.

There needs to be a sustained plan of action to effect further substantial change. That is the challenge right now: to maintain the positive gains and culture while eliminating the negative patterns that persist at senior levels. It is within all of our interests, across all political parties, to ensure that the New Zealand public have sufficient trust and confidence in the New Zealand Police that they can report a crime, be listened to, and have it investigated thoroughly. That trust is essential. It underpins every part of policing in our country, from community safety to serious crime investigations. Without it, people hesitate to come forward, and they lose faith that justice will be done.

Labour supports the changes set to be made by the commissioner and the Government to restore public confidence, including the appointment of an Inspector-General of Police. Independent oversight is essential. The new inspector-general will provide a safeguard to ensure that investigations into police misconduct, particularly at senior levels, are fair, consistent, and free from internal influence. Labour supports this reform alongside broader measures to strengthen police integrity, such as enhanced leadership, accountability, continued ethics training, and stronger whistleblowing protections. We will also support the commissioner’s efforts to rebuild trust, provided that these efforts are transparent and measurable.

Every day, officers go to work. They do it with integrity, professionalism, and genuine care for their communities. Those officers deserve leaders who uphold the same values they live by every day. This report makes it clear that at the most senior levels, that standard was not met. When leadership fails, it damages the morale within the organisation and erodes public confidence outside it. Strong leadership is not only about management; it is about setting an example of integrity, accountability, and transparency. That is what front-line officers do every single day. That is what the public expects from the top.

We want to recognise the mana of the most important person in this entire report, and that is the mana of the woman—the brave, courageous woman—who came forward, the woman who is a survivor. On this particular day, we wish to acknowledge every survivor of any form of abuse by any person in a position of power or influence over that person. It’s particularly stinging to have to discuss this on this particular day. The headlines are taken up by this matter instead of being a platform for amplification of the voices of survivors today. Instead, it is being highlighted by the actions and behaviour of people in the highest ranks of the police—the police; people we are told to trust, and people that we are told are here to keep us safe.

I want to acknowledge that I’m glad that we got this report, and that it is a real shame that the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) only have the resource to investigate 2 percent of all of the total cases that are reported to them. We have been saying for a long time that the police needs higher levels of oversight over their conduct. Let’s be clear: this is a not a case of one man’s actions; there were multiple senior police officers, including the former police commissioner, who all colluded to cover up genuine complaints of abuse and misconduct.

The way that these allegations were covered up is perhaps the most disturbing part. They took a relationship between a senior police official and a woman 20 years his junior, where a clear power imbalance existed, and where there was alleged abuse, and they charged her—they charged her. They failed her, and she is not the only one. That is the reason why 94 percent of sexual assaults in this country go unreported to the police.

I want to quote from a meeting I had this morning with survivors about this very case: “Silence protects those who cause harm.” More importantly, in the way in which this case unfolded, and in many cases of survivors of abuse in State care, police can be obstacles to justice, but they shouldn’t be, and all of us should make sure that they are not.

The new police inspector-general adds another layer of oversight, but I want to add some of the things that we are pushing for to add further accountability to the police. We want all police to wear body cameras. It’s what corrections officers do; we think that the police should do the same thing. We want better resourcing for the Independent Police Conduct Authority, and we want them to have power to discipline officers at whatever rank they sit in, and we want the IPCA to have the power to actually change police practices, including directing the police commissioner himself. Lastly, we want greater limits and safeguards on police power and discretion, including in regard to arrest, entry, search, and seizure.

Now, we have some questions for the Minister of Police in relation to this report. We want to know which of the IPCA’s recommendations the Government will be implementing, and by when. Will the Government be looking to introduce any legislation that amends the Policing Act before the end of the year, given the graveness of this situation, and given the many statements that have been made about this never happening again? Although, I will note this has happened before. I also want to ask the Minister whether he’s concerned about the impact this cover-up will have on public trust in the police, and what will he be doing to try and repair that.

I’ve noted the issues that the member has brought forward, in terms of the changes they wish to see. In relation to the Independent Police Conduct Authority of New Zealand (IPCA) recommendations, both the police and the Government have been clear that we accept all of those recommendations. In relation to the legislation, probably the Attorney-General will handle this, but there will probably have to be new legislation that will deal with the formation of an inspector-general, and the office will provide a much higher degree of oversight; the ability to go uninvited and look at police processes, prosecutions. We think that level of oversight—it’s timely for that, now.

In terms of public confidence, absolutely; it would be naive to think that there hasn’t been an impact on public confidence. We are dealing with the prior police executive, the most powerful and influential police officers in the country. We’ve all been horrified, I think, to see the findings of the IPCA and how deep that ran, and the behaviour that was exhibited by those officers, but I do also want to reinforce the fact that it was a small group; it wasn’t our entire police service.

By Louise Nicholas’ own comments—and there is no one that has got a stronger or more authoritative voice when speaking to police culture than Louise Nicholas—she acknowledged the police have come a long way in the last 20 years. We have quite simply got outstanding police officers that turn up to work every day, that deal with extremely difficult sexual violence, family violence cases. They show empathy, they are professional, and they guide those cases through court so there can be justice delivered for those people.

I would ask the public to focus their anger and disappointment at the previous police executive, and not at our 15,000 outstanding police men and women who turn up to work every day to protect and serve the communities that they live in.

I have a few additional questions, and I want to thank the Minister for the constructive answers to our questions. I wanted to know whether there was a timeline on that significant piece of work that the Minister talked about and when we can be expecting to see introduction of anything, or when that work might occur. If the Minister has been advised on any timelines, we would like to know that. We also wanted to know whether there would be any space or room for cross-party collaboration on increasing the accountability and oversight of the police, and whether that is something that the Minister would be willing to consider.

To the second part of the question, absolutely. There should be cross-party work on this, and I’m very happy to chair that myself to make sure that work is done. In relation to the first part of your question, we’ve accepted the recommendations, and it would be fair to say that now we will be working as quickly as we can to make sure they are implemented

Does the Minister want to have a right of reply?

I guess all I’d say is that for us a nation and a country, we have all been rocked by the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report, because it goes to the very heart of what we all have to have trust in, and that is the executive leadership of our police.

The one thing that I would say is that prior to us receiving the IPCA report, there had already been definitive, firm actions taken from both the Government and the new incoming commissioner—well, he just celebrated his first year of his appointment as commissioner—Richard Chambers, a man of integrity, a genuine leader, someone who is deeply connected with his front line and cares about his front-line officers, and someone who understands inherently the responsibility of delivering to the public and maintaining that public confidence.

I guess the one thing that I’d leave you with—and anyone watching our Parliament today—is that we are going to work as hard as we can, whether it be in Government, whether it be me, and whether it be our police commissioner, to make sure that we take the actions, that we deserve to retain that public confidence and support, and that we support our front-line police officers to continue to go out and do the outstanding job that they do every day. Thank you.