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Summarised by Centrist
Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming resigned in May after investigators allegedly showed him child sex exploitation and bestiality material found on his work devices.
Broadcaster Michael Laws noted that Linda Clark, a board member of TVNZ and a former political editor, acted as McSkimming’s lawyer and was behind the push to seek a rare “super injunction” that hid not only the material and McSkimming’s name, but also the existence of the legal action itself.
Justice Karen Grau initially granted the request with the suppression only lifted following a media challenge by NZME, RNZ and Stuff.
McSkimming had been suspended on full pay since December over an unrelated criminal allegation, the details of which remain suppressed for legal reasons. The offensive material was discovered during that probe but was not connected to it.
Laws said Clark’s actions undermined open justice and were incompatible with her position at the publicly funded broadcaster.
“Linda Clark chose to represent Jevon McSkimming,” Laws said. “Then she gave him advice which he clearly took to seek a super injunction and stop New Zealand from knowing anything about the allegedly despicable crimes of this man.”
“There’s no question that if Labour had been reelected he was the preferred candidate to be the new police commissioner,” Laws opined.
Clark was appointed to the board of TVNZ by Labour’s Willie Jackson shortly before last year’s election. She has temporarily stepped back from her board duties, but has not resigned.
An independent review of police IT systems commissioned by Commissioner Andrew Coster found the force had stopped auditing staff internet activity five years ago, during the previous Labour government.
Coster says that monitoring will resume immediately.
