The Jevon McSkimming Scandal Raises Serious Questions

The recent revelations about former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming have sent shockwaves throughout New Zealand. The discovery of child sexual exploitation and bestiality material allegedly found on his work devices is not just a personal failing but a systemic betrayal of public trust, a betrayal that must not be swept under the carpet. It demands a full inquiry into how McSkimming went undetected and raises serious questions about whether he was part of a wider network of depravity within the New Zealand Police Force.


Yesterday, RNZ reported:

Revealed: Child exploitation and bestiality material allegedly found on former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming's work devices

Child exploitation and bestiality material were allegedly found on former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming's work devices, it can now be revealed.

The revelation comes after a High Court judge dismissed an application to prevent media reporting the nature of the alleged objectionable material.

McSkimming resigned as the country's second most powerful cop in May amid separate investigations by the Independent Police Conduct Authority and police.

His resignation came a week after RNZ approached him, via his lawyer, with allegations about material found on his work devices.

RNZ earlier revealed pornography found on McSkimming's work devices was being investigated as alleged objectionable material.

His lawyer Linda Clark was then granted a rare "superinjunction" by Justice Karen Grau that prohibited reporting that disclosed the nature of the allegedly objectionable material, as well as the existence of the injunction itself.

McSkimming’s ascent to Deputy Commissioner, a position of immense power, was procedurally endorsed by then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in 2023, following a Public Service Commission selection process that apparently missed the rot beneath the surface. This isn’t the first time the police vetting system has failed us. Most notably, the 2018 inquiry into the appointment of Wally Haumaha exposed significant flaws in the vetting process, including inadequate scrutiny of candidates’ backgrounds and conflicts of interest. Haumaha’s interference during the 2004 Operation Austin, an investigation into historical rape allegations against police officers Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton, and Bob Schollum, whereby he downplayed their crimes, was unbecoming of an officer of the law.

Haumaha, who worked closely with the serial Police rapists in Rotorua during the 1980s and 1990s, reportedly dismissed victim Louise Nicholas’ allegations as “nonsense,” suggested officers “stick together,” and described Shipton as a “big softie” and Schollum as a “legend” with women, remarks that downplayed the numerous serious sexual assault allegations against his colleges. This type of culture within the Police is likely widespread and clearly hinders accountability, evidently resulting in only 4.2% of all sexual assault victimisations (reported and unreported) being prosecuted, and just 1.2% resulting in convictions. Who is to say that such a sick culture that treats all complainants as liars isn't also in play when victims are making allegations of bestiality or pedophilia against Police officers?

Recommendations from the Haumaha inquiry, intended to tighten oversight, appear to have been ignored or inadequately implemented. How else could someone like McSkimming, allegedly harbouring such grotesque proclivities, slip through the cracks?

The McSkimming case isn't an isolated blemish. New Zealand has seen other high-profile figures caught with objectionable material or involved in sexual offending. Tim Jago, former president of the ACT Party, was convicted of eight counts of indecent assault after being found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage boys in the 1990s whom he knew through an Auckland surf lifesaving club that he was defrauding. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in November 2024. Ron Brierley, a celebrated corporate raider knighted in 1988 and known for his close ties to powerful politicians like former Prime Ministers Robert Muldoon and Jenny Shipley, pleaded guilty in 2021 to possessing over 11,000 images of child sexual abuse after his 2019 arrest in Sydney.

Then there's Anthony "Aussie" Malcolm, a former National Party MP for Eden and Cabinet minister who died in September 2024, who was under police investigation at the time of his death following multiple complaints of historical child sexual abuse, including allegations he sexually assaulted a teenager in 1992. Not to mention former Auckland councillor David Tamihere, (John Tamihere's brother) who was convicted in the 1990s for possessing child abuse material.

More recently, Michael Forbes, deputy chief press secretary to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, resigned in June 2025 after a questionable police investigation revealed he recorded audio of Wellington sex workers without their consent and amassed intrusive photos and videos of women in public and private settings.

These cases underscore a disturbing pattern: sexual predators in positions of power are evading accountability due to vetting systems that appear woefully inadequate.

As well as a large question mark over the organisations that have allowed such despicable individuals to attain positions of power, the decisions these individuals made, whether in policy, governance, or law enforcement, must now be thoroughly re-examined. Were their judgments clouded by their sick depravities? Did their access to sensitive material enable them to undertake further crimes? Did the access they had to various government and police systems allow them to cover-up their crimes or, worse, protect others who share similar criminal interests? The public deserves answers to these very serious questions.

The possibility that McSkimming’s actions were not isolated but part of a broader pedophile network within the police cannot be easily dismissed. Speculation on social media has raised concerns about systemic corruption, with some alleging that the police under former leadership failed to pursue certain offenders due to institutional rot. While these claims largely remain unverified, they fuel public distrust and highlight the need for a thorough investigation into whether McSkimming’s alleged crimes were enabled or concealed by others within the force. The pattern of his offending points to the conclusion that McSkimming has been offending for a long time. So why wasn't he caught earlier?

The police are entrusted to protect our most vulnerable, yet McSkimming’s case suggests a betrayal at the highest levels. A full, independent inquiry is therefore non-negotiable. It must probe not only how McSkimming, and potentially other police officers, evaded detection but also whether the recommendations from the Haumaha inquiry were deliberately sidelined. Why were routine audits of police device usage paused in 2020, as Commissioner Richard Chambers admitted? Why were internal controls so weak that staff could bypass them to access inappropriate content? These are not mere oversights; they point to a culture of negligence that must be dismantled.

Politicians and police must face stricter vetting, with ongoing monitoring to ensure those in power are held to the highest of standards. The Policing Act is clear: a Deputy Commissioner must be a fit and proper person. McSkimming’s alleged actions might mock that standard, but we cannot allow the taint of such depravity to linger or poison the rest of the New Zealand Police force.

A public inquiry, coupled with a review of decisions influenced by those implicated in such scandals, is essential to restore trust. New Zealand must confront the spectre of pedophiles within positions of power head-on, rooting out any networks that may lurk within our institutions. The safety of our children and the integrity of our justice and political systems depend on it.

These Sordid Scandals Should Have Sunk The Government

The stench of cover-ups from the current coalition Government reveals a grim truth: the right-wing establishment is more invested in protecting its own and saving face than upholding justice. The latest revelations about National MP Hamish Campbell’s deep ties to the Two by Twos cult, Chris Luxon’s disgraced press secretary Michael Forbes, and ACT’s attempt to silence a sexual abuse victim to shield their former president Tim Jago expose a pattern of moral decay and institutional complicity. The police, courts, and right-wing media have played their part in sweeping these scandals under the rug, leaving victims voiceless and the public in the dark.

Let’s start with Luxon’s former deputy press secretary, Michael Forbes, who resigned in disgrace after recording sex workers and other women in private spaces without consent. Forbes didn’t just make a weak apology, he admitted to violating women’s safety, capturing audio and photos in compromising settings, including through windows at night.

They confiscated his work phone and yet nobody at his work knew? https://t.co/SK3mlWENxk

— Scott Nickerson (@totaraforest) June 5, 2025

The police investigated in July 2024 but decided it didn’t meet the “criminal prosecution threshold” or that Forbes' victims should be informed. They also supposedly didn't inform the Prime Minister or the relevant Ministers, as they're required to do under the "no surprises" convention. No charges, no accountability, just a shrug from Commissioner Richard Chambers, who’s “open to new information” but won’t revisit the case. Chamber's also blamed his predecessor, Andrew Coster, who also knew nothing. The police then endorsed their own decision to not investigate, even though Michael Forbes had repeatedly broken the law.

Christopher Luxon’s crocodile tears over Michael Forbes’ predatory actions ring hollow. His “shock” and belated vetting review are performative, masking National’s pattern of protecting creeps like Forbes and Sam Uffindell, while victims’ dignity is trampled. Luxon, likely aware of Forbes’ police investigation since July 2024, failed to act until media exposure forced his hand, revealing a culture of negligence and complicity that prioritises political optics over accountability.

Then there's Hamish Campbell, National’s Ilam MP, who’s deeply entrenched in the Two by Twos, a secretive religious sect with a rap sheet of pedophilia convictions. This isn’t some loose association that can be explained away. Campbell’s an elder, hosting Bible study sessions with young children at his Christchurch home while the FBI and NZ Police investigate the cult for systemic child sexual abuse. Over 140 perpetrators have been identified globally, with one New Zealand minister, William Easton, jailed for abusing boys over numerous decades.

#BHN National MP Hamish Campbell says he only knows about child abuse cases in his church from the media, Mike and Abi from Our2x2Story on TikTok disagree as they know the details of allegations in NZ

Full illuminating interview with them 9pm Monday her and on YouTube #nzpol pic.twitter.com/3SCqdK7MOW

— Pat Brittenden (@patbrittenden) April 12, 2025

Campbell’s response? A mealy-mouthed claim of “no personal knowledge” of the abuse and lies about his position in the cult. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, ever the spineless opportunist, downplayed Campbell’s ties, insisting people are “free to practise their faith.” Free to be involved in a sect that is enabling child abuse, more like. The mainstream media, quick to fawn over Luxon’s “moderate” image, barely pressed the issue, letting Campbell’s “private matter” excuse slide without challenge. If this were a left-wing MP with such close ties to a cult that regularly molested children, the mainstream media would hound them out of office.

ACT’s rap sheet is just as vile. Tim Jago is rotting in jail for sexually abusing boys in the 1990s, convicted after a victim bravely came forward. But ACT tried to silence that victim, desperate to protect their party president from accountability and keep things quiet until after the election. This wasn’t a mistake, it was a calculated move to bury the truth and preserve their brand. The courts, while convicting Jago, offered little spotlight on ACT’s interference. Rather they helped to hide the truth until well after the election, arguing that it wasn't appropriate to make the public aware of Tim Jago's crimes just before casting their votes.

The mainstream media’s coverage of Tim Jago’s sexual abuse scandal was a masterclass in deflection, framing his crimes as dusty relics of the 1990s rather than a searing exposé of ACT’s willingness to shield predators for political gain. Outlets like NZ Herald buried the story’s prominence, while others echoed ACT’s “we didn’t know” excuse, ignoring David Seymour’s sluggish response to clear warnings. This selective silence exposes a media complicit in protecting power, sidelining victims, and sanitising the right’s moral failures.

Tim Jago's name suppression was maintained for years because his lawyer argued it would be bad for ACT if his identity came out.

David Seymour knew about the allegations against his child sex predator party president for THREE MONTHS before he stood him down. pic.twitter.com/IJturIPLjg

— Nick (@StrayDogNZ) January 31, 2025

The pattern is clear: Government MPs close ranks, the police drag their feet, the courts soft-pedal, and the mainstream media, beholden to right-wing interests, churns out sanitised narratives that are designed to twist the truth or keep the public entirely in the dark. 

Campbell’s cult connections are “private,” Forbes’ violations are “unfortunate,” and Jago’s crimes are “old news.” This isn’t just incompetence; it’s a system rigged to protect powerful men while victims are left to fend for themselves. The right-wing media’s silence on these issues is deafening, their selective outrage reserved for fake scandals on left-leaning targets. Meanwhile, Luxon’s government dodges accountability, banking on public apathy and short news cycles.

These aren’t isolated incidents…they’re symptoms of a right-wing culture that prioritises power over principle. Campbell, Forbes, and Jago are just the tip of the iceberg, an iceberg that would have normally sunk any government in a properly functioning democracy. The police and courts must stop shielding the connected, and the media needs to do the right thing, grow a spine and start reporting on these issues without bias. Until then, the victims: children, women, and survivors, will continue to pay the price for a system that appears to be rotten to the core.

Cameron Slater's Selective Outrage Over Benjamin Doyle

Cameron Slater, the once-feared Whale Oil blogger now pathetic bedroom hack, is back at it again, flogging a dead horse while the rest of the right-wing propaganda circus has packed up and left town. His latest fixation? Green MP Benjamin Doyle, whose private social media account sparked a brief, baseless frenzy among the right wing conspiracy crowd. But while even the most rabid propagandists have moved on, Slater’s still out there, ranting like a man unhinged, desperate to keep the Doyle story alive. It’s not just pathetic…it’s peak hypocrisy from a man who’s made a career out of selective outrage.

Doyle’s private account raised a few eyebrows until the MP delivered a clear, forthright explanation that shut down the speculation. No scandal, no conspiracy—just a personal account blown out of proportion by the tinfoil-hat brigade. The evidence was flimsier than a paper tissue, and most of Slater’s allies, sensing a dud, quietly dropped it. Even the frothiest commentators, such as Sean Plunket (who had previously defamed Doyle), realised there was no story here. But not Cam. He’s still spinning wild yarns about Doyle’s supposed depravity and claiming there’s a conspiracy within mainstream media not to report, with zero substance to back it up, as if the world didn’t get the memo that this homophobic tale’s deader than dial-up internet.

Now, let’s highlight Slater’s incoherent hypocrisy. One minute he’s slamming the media for ignoring his Doyle hit job, whining that they’re shirking their duty. Yet when it comes to actual scandals involving actual predators, Slater’s as silent as the once vociferous but now discredited right wing propagandist, Michelle Boag. Does anybody even remember her?

Take the Tim Jago convictions and cover up for instance, the former ACT Party president and convicted pedophile, who abused teenage boys in the 1990s through his role at a sports club, was a major scandal that should have sunk David Seymours' career. The ACT Party helped the pedophile to hide and downplay his crimes. Did Slater dedicate a single blog post to exposing Jago’s pedophilia? Not a peep. And what about the Two By Twos cult, a secretive sect with a chilling number of pedophilia cases, including allegations of systemic abuse swept under the rug? National politician Hamish Campbel was caught blatantly lying about his links to the cult. But did Slater make any mention of this? No! Once again it was absolute crickets from Cam. For a self-styled crusader, his blind spots are glaringly politically biased.

This is Slater’s playbook: scream about imagined conspiracies on the left while dodging real horrors on the right that don’t fit his pathetic and childish narrative. He’ll smear a Green MP with baseless gossip but won’t touch stories that might upset his right-wing mates. It’s not just lazy…it’s spineless disinformation from a has-been blogger. The man who is cozying up to other reprobates like Winston Peters is now a complete caricature, a hypocritical fool chasing phantoms while real predators like Jago and cults like the Two By Twos completely escape his radar.

Slater’s Doyle obsession isn’t just a waste of pixels; it’s a sign of his irrelevance…irrelevance Slater amusingly accuses other bloggers of. The mainstream media and right-wing noise machine has moved on, and even his old cronies aren’t buying Slater’s homophobic rubbish! Yet here he is, alone in his echo chamber, recycling tired old tropes about a non-issue. Cam, just take the hint. New Zealand has moved on. Maybe it’s time you did too.

ACT’s “Tough on Crime” Facade Crumbles with Jago’s Appeal

For years and years and years, David Seymour and his posse of deluded neoliberals have been preaching their “tough on crime” gospel to voters. Harsher sentences! More police! Lock ‘em up! Throw away the key. But when it comes to their own, namely former Act Party president Tim Jago, a convicted pedophile, suddenly the tune changes. Supporting the kiddy fiddler's appeal while victims relive their trauma? That’s not a policy...it’s a betrayal. Let’s rip the mask off David Seymour's hypocrisy.

Jago was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault on two teenage boys, and copped a measly two-and-a-half years behind bars. The jury took just three hours to decide, yet here he is, claiming a “miscarriage of justice” and appealing his conviction with a high-priced lawyer in tow. And ACT? Instead of distancing themselves from this predator, they’ve been disturbingly quiet, with whispers of party insiders still backing their old mate. This from the same crew who demand “personal responsibility” and “consequences” for everyone else. Funny how principles vanish when it’s one of your own.

Yesterday, 1 News reported:

 

'Disbelief': Tim Jago's appeal against convictions, sentence set for June

Former ACT Party president Tim Jago's appeal against his convictions and sentence for historical abuse of two teenage boys will be heard in June — to the disbelief of the mother of one of his victims.

Last year a jury convicted Jago of indecently assaulting the teenagers he knew through an Auckland surf lifesaving club in the 1990s.

He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail. He gave up his battle for name suppression in January this year.

Jago's lawyer today confirmed the appeal would go ahead in June at a Court of Appeal hearing in Auckland.

The appeal is made on the grounds of a miscarriage of justice.

It claims "the jury reached an unreasonable verdict", and that the judge's summing up was "unbalanced and incomplete".

It also says the sentence was "excessive" and that home detention was clearly the appropriate sentence. 

ACT’s tough-on-crime shtick is built on posturing...cracking down on gangs, pushing for longer sentences, and parading as the law-and-order saviours. Yet, when Jago’s victims, like survivor Paul Oliver, speak out about the ongoing pain of this appeal, where’s Seymour’s outrage?

Oliver called Jago’s appeal a “vanity project,” and he’s spot-on. It’s a slap in the face to victims (victims the coalition said would be at the heart of our justice system), dragging them through more legal torment while Jago pretends he's been wronged by a miscarriage of justice. If ACT were truly tough on crime, they’d be condemning this, not letting it slide. But no, their silence about Jago's complete lack of remorse appears to condone his despicable crimes.

ACT’s handling of Jago’s case has been dodgy from the start. When allegations surfaced in 2022, Seymour advised a victim’s wife to contact a lawyer...not the police. An employment lawyer, for a criminal matter! The Act Party obviously wanted to keep it hush-hush to dodge the 2023 election fallout. Name suppression dragged on for an unbelievable two years, shielding ACT from scrutiny while Jago’s victims suffered in silence. Now, with Jago appealing, the party’s still in damage control, issuing bland statements about “taking action” without a second thought for Jago's victims. Tough on crime? Yeah right!

This isn’t just about Jago...it’s about ACT’s moral bankruptcy. They can’t claim to champion victims while their ex-president, a convicted child abuser, gets a free pass to clog up the courts. If Seymour wants to salvage any credibility, he needs to publicly denounce Jago’s crimes and appeal and apologise to the victims. Anything less proves ACT’s “tough on crime” stance is a hollow slogan, trotted out for votes but ditched when it suits them. Kiwis deserve better than a party that picks and chooses which crimes to care about.