Mark Mitchell: Police Minister on Andrew Coster's claims he knew about McSkimming allegations earlier

Police Minister Mark Mitchell's doubling down on his version of the McSkimming saga timeline - calling recent claims "absolute utter nonsense."

Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster's come out over the weekend claiming Mitchell - and Chris Hipkins - knew about the McSkimming affair, years earlier than they're letting on. 

However Mitchell told Heather du Plessis-Allan he was only told on November 6th 2024. 

He says Coster was told to brief him by the Public Service Commission, and he didn't buy or swallow the narrative that McSkimming was a victim. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Former Police Commissioner Andrew cost has finally given his version
of events in an interview on Q and A. He
says he never interfered with emails going into Police Minister
Mark Mitchell's office, and he says both Mark Mitchell and
former Police Minister Chris Hopkins knew about the allegations earlier
than they were admitting, and Mark Mitchell the police Minister's
with us right now high.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Mitch had wonning Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Andrew Coster says he did not interfere with the women's
emails coming into your office. Is he wrong?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Police have confirmed that that protocol wasn't put in place,
and it was put in place by the Commissioner's office,
And it's unfathomable to think that he didn't know about that.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
So it wasn't put in place by him, It was
put in place by somebody else.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
In his office, right in his office. Correct.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Why is it impossible to believe that he didn't know
about that?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, it's his office and the most senior people in
the organizations and they were diverting email traffic from the
minister and he didn't know about it. It just doesn't
seem credible.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
I mean, do you know about everything that happens in
your office.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
I like to think that I do. I like to
think if there's any serious matters, and certainly if there
was a if anyone in my office was doing anything
that related to the Commissioner's office, and I'd expect to
be fully briefed on it, know about it, and sign
off on it.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah. Now he also says that he told you earlier
last year than you're saying you were told you say,
six of November, he says earlier. Is he wrong?

Speaker 2 (01:20):
There is just there's just absolute utter nonsense. So let
me put some context around this for you. Is that
the first time that I became aware of Miss C,
that she even existed, was on the sixth of November,
when Andrew Costa didn't voluntarily come and brief me. He
was told by the PSC to come and brief me

(01:41):
on the situation between Mick Skimming and Miss C, which
he did. I won't tell you what my response to
him when he briefed me, but I did not buy
or swallow the narrative that was given to me that
Mick Skimming was a victim. I immediately called a meeting
with PSC and the so list of the general the
following day to forward my concerns around the welfare of

(02:02):
Miss C. I am a father of two daughters and
I had been a local MP for fifteen years and
part of my role is protecting people against the power
of the state when they put up against it, and this,
to me was a clear example of that, and I
pushed as far and when as hard as I could
as a minister to make sure that Miss C was

(02:23):
actually being looked after.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
What made you skeptical about the yarn? The version of
the yarn he was telling.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
You, Well, it's I didn't You've got so you've got
a deputy commission that's centered into an extramarital affair where
there's a big age difference, where there's a massive power
and balance, where he created a job for a young woman,
then she gets discarded and then she's sort of bucking
up against the power of the state. I mean, how
could they not see what the issues lying there were?

(02:49):
But it's quite simply the narrative was poor Jebbam skimming
he had an extra marital affair. Now this young lady
is harassing him. Well, why how did she get to
that position? Why was there a degrady and their mental health.
I mean, why did they not ask these simple questions?
And like I said to my father, I've been involved
in public safety and protecting those and looking after those
that can't protect themselves for most of my adult life,

(03:12):
isn't it. How could they not see it?

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Your timeline, though, has been questioned because when the PSA,
when the IPCA talks to the PSA about it, the
PSA gets in touch with your office and tells you, guys,
this is happening. That was October fourteen earlier than you say.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, that wasn't time. That wasn't any information in relation
to skimming on with Ze at all. That was quite
simply saying that there's a probity check underway on the
appointment of a temporary Commissioner and the IPCID flag to
the PSC, which is the right thing to do during
a probity check, that they had some information there that
they were assessing, and that they come back to the
PSC and inform them of any further action, if any

(03:50):
was going to be taken. And the PSC informed me
of that, which is the correct thing to do. But
I didn't have any I didn't know the nature of
the complaint. I didn't know any of the details around it.
The PSC came back to the IPCA, came back to
the PSC on the sixth of November and said there
is now an investigation underway. And the PSC then did
the right thing. They came to me. They went to

(04:10):
Andrew Costa and they told Andrew Costa, you need to
go and brief the Minister. Costa didn't come forward voluntarily
to brief me. He was instructed by PC to brief me.
And that is when I found so just let me finish.
That's when I found out about the existence of the
C and that's when I found out about the relationship
between skimming and mis C. And the following day is

(04:32):
when I called a meeting with PSC and Solicitor General
to bring forward my concerns.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Right, Mitch, listen, thank you so much for your time.
We have to leave it there, just out of time.
That's March Thanks to the Police Minister.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
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