Jevon McSkimming scandal: Nicola Willis acted on Andrew Coster after reading report
Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says she can’t talk in detail about her views on the former top cop who now leads one of her agencies - but she’s made sure his employer knows.
Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster came in for serious criticism in the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s (IPCA) report on how complaints against deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming were handled.
The complaints from a younger woman were not seriously investigated, with the woman herself instead becoming a target of a prosecution.
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Coster was found to have “in effect” misled the Public Service Commission and to have inappropriately tried to influence an investigation.
It has also been revealed that he set up a system so that complaints from the woman emailed to the police minister were routed to him instead, without the minister seeing them.
Coster is now the head of the Social Investment Agency but is on leave since the IPCA report was published on Tuesday.
Willis said as minister she was ultimately not responsible for his employment and she would not want to influence what would be an employment decision for the Public Service Commissioner Brian Roche - but she had let him know about her views.
“I think that the findings of the report are very serious, and that is why, immediately upon having read the report, I rang the Public Service Commissioner to convey my concerns about its findings,” Willis said.
“Under law, the Public Service Commissioner is his employer and all us of want to proceed in a manner that reduces any risk to the taxpayer.”
Asked what view she had conveyed, Willis said, “I was shocked and appalled by the findings of the report, which I made plain…I made my views on that very clear to the Public Service Commissioner, and I am sure he will take them into account.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he would not comment on what was an employment matter.
“It is good to see the Public Service Commissioner actually put Mr Coster on leave while an employment investigation is processed,” Luxon said.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who was minister of police while Coster was in charge, said he “would have difficulty having confidence in Andrew Coster”.
A spokesperson for the Public Service Commissioner said he had received the report on October 24 and put Coster on leave about two weeks later, on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Coster said he would not be commenting to media during the “employment conversation”.