Taxpayer Update: Taxpayer Victory on health research 🔬| First poll since Labour's CGT announcement 📊 | Winston Peter's Mongolian horse🐎

Hi,

The breaking news re Andrew Coster / McSkimming's cover-up: another golden handshake must be ruled out.

Last night, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) dropped its report on the Police cover up of the allegations related to disgraced former Commissioner, Jevon McSkimmings.

As an organisation whose primary purpose is accountability of government, I can't think of a report in the last decade more damning of such a senior public official. 

The IPCA conclude that former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster "attempted to influence the nature and extent of the original IPCA investigation and the timeframe for its completion. Those attempts were perceived by some others within Police as designed to bring the investigation to a rapid and premature conclusion so as not to intersect with the Commissioner appointment process and jeopardise Mr McSkimming’s prospects of being appointed as the next Commissioner of Police, notwithstanding the seriousness of the allegations being made."

The former Police Commissioner also put in place a protocol to keep the Police Minister in the dark, ensuring communications intended for the Minister/his office were instead routed to him.

Put simply, New Zealand's former top cop tried to bury sexual allegations related to his mate, and second-in-command. Instead of ensuring a proper investigation, he allowed the Police to prosecute the victim for online harassment of McSkimmings!

He was once labelled 'Cuddles Coster' - 'Creepy Coster' seems more apt.

Regular readers will recall that in order to move Coster on from the Police, the Government moved him sideways last November to a very well paid role, CEO of the Social Investment Agency (he's on roughly the same as the Prime Minister's salary).

Despite the damning report, Coster has not resigned. He's digging in and is on 'garden leave', i.e. full pay.

This is the way it goes in the public service - as we saw with the former Reserve Bank Governor, Adrian Orr – no one gets sacked in Wellington, without a negotiated taxpayer-funded "golden handshake".

We say, enough is enough. We are calling on the Public Service Commissioner to publicly rule out a costly parachute for Coster (see our media release here: Brian Roche looking like a fool for every minute Creepy Coster remains on the public teat)

My prediction is that this will be a fast-moving story, and it is one the Taxpayers' Union will be keeping a very close eye on.

In the meantime, here are the links to the IPCA's own damning words: the full 135 page explosive report is downloadable here, and the IPCA's shorter summary is here.

On to more positive matters...

We've celebrated another Taxpayer Victory, and this one has been a long time coming...

Taxpayer Victory: health research funding responsibility to be taken away from the Health Research Council 💉🥳

Yyou might recall that last year, your humble Taxpayers' Union got into a little bit of controversy for calling out some of the most ridiculous Health Research Council stories.

Among the "science" grants we called out were the $377,550 for "Healing with Māori Music"; $150,000 for "Building room for equity: Culture centred design of hospital waiting rooms"; $150,000 for "Health Promotion Interventions for Pacific men in a Barbershop" and the following grant, that we're still trying to figure out...

More recently, we highlighted the hundreds of thousands of "science" money being shuffled by the Health Research Council to "exploring the narratives of the water" and "the use of te reo in Otago University". 

The wheels of Government move slowly, but at long last, the Health Research Council is having its wings clipped.

Minister for Science, Innovation, and Technology Dr Shane Reti has announced an in-principle decision has also been made to transfer health research funding from the Health Research Council to a new (and, we understand, narrower in scope) Research Funding NZ.

With every health and research dollar being precious, it's good to finally see some progress. We look forward to reviewing the next set of grant approvals...

MFAT spends five days figuring out what to do with Winston Peters’ Mongolian horse 🐎 

Ever had a horse to house? Last week, our investigations team uncovered that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spent five days debating how to handle Winston Peters’ gift from Mongolia: a horse named Stamina.

Thanks to a tip off and subsequent Official Information Act (OIA) responses (which can be read here and here), we now know that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spent a solid five days on what can only be described as a game of “What do we do with this horse?”

An email chain involving 14 MFAT officials reveals a whole lot of back-and-forth on issues like what to name the horse (eventually landing on Stamina), how similar gifts had been previously handled, and just generally what to do with this unusual diplomatic gift.

It’s an impressive display of the burden of bureaucracy in action. Spending five days working on what to do with Stamina doesn't exactly scream Government efficiency to us! 

Police breath tests: Allegations of a costly systemic rot 🚔 

RNZ recently broke the story that more than 100 police officers are under investigation for falsifying 30,000 breath‑tests.

And now we've learned that more than 100 of the officers currently remain on duty. This begs the question, where is the accountability for falsifying data?

The Police force exceeded its annual testing target by nearly a million tests, but it now appears some officers manipulated the numbers to hit performance goals. This exposes a system that prioritises appearances over accountability.

We say Ministers and senior police leadership must take action to restore trust, enforce consequences, and fix the culture that allowed this dishonesty to happen.

And with today's news (see top of email), isn't that true?!

Auckland's Supercity: A decade without a serious review 🔍🤨️

Can you believe the Auckland Council and the Supercity model have been operating for over a decade?

Yet despite billions flowing through rates and development levies, there’s never been a full, independent review into whether the supercity delivers value for ratepayers. 

Longtime Taxpayers' Union expert advisory, Phil Barry, has been crunching the numbers on the Super City. His latest analysis highlights how the governance framework remains bloated, opaque, and untested against real outcomes. From sprawling committees to overlapping council-controlled organisations, it creates layers of bureaucracy that cost everyday Aucklanders both time and money.

With other parts of the country considering amalgamation, it is important to understand whether Auckland's supercity has actually delivered for ratepayers before others follow and amalgamate.

Phil's report should be a call to arms to ensure the Government commissions the post-implementation review ratepayers were promised when the Super City was introduced.

Stephen Rowe: Leading AI Politics and global youth movements 🎤🇺🇸 

Last week, our university campus group Generation Screwed met with Stephen Rowe, who was over from the US being hosted by the Taxpayers' Union. Stephen has extensive experience in leveraging AI and technology to mobilise pro-freedom organisations and make political engagement more effective. 

Over the years, he has worked closely with centre-right activists, including the late Charlie Kirk, who hired Stephen as just the third Turning Point USA employee way back when.

Creating a first-class opportunity to learn from someone who knows how to transform ideas into action and grow a movement that matters… all while throwing in a Lord of the Rings reference or two.

Stephen featured on Sunday’s Q+A with Jack Tame, discussing AI in Politics and his experience working with Charlie Kirk. 

Stephen was also interviewed and featured on page two of the Weekend Post, and sat down for a (very entertaining!) podcast with Taxpayers' Union supporter (and Sunday Star Times columnist) Damien Grant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTVDH7-UdwU

Taxpayer Talk – Jamie Beaton on how to fix New Zealand's failing education system 📚

For this week's episode of Taxpayer Talk, I sit down with Jamie Beaton, the co-founder of Crimson Education and one of New Zealand’s most high-profile entrepreneurs. Hailing from Auckland, Jamie has turned his ambition into a global platform, helping students gain access to elite universities while showing the world what Kiwi talent can achieve.

Jamie didn’t shy away from the politics of entrepreneurship either, highlighting how burdensome regulation and high taxes can stifle young people trying to make their mark. Jamie argued the government should focus on empowering ambitious individuals, rather than penalising success, stressing the importance of nurturing local talent to compete on a global stage. 

For Generation Screwed and other young Kiwis looking to turn ideas into action, Jamie’s experience and advice offer a blueprint: ambition, persistence, and smart risk-taking. His story is proof that New Zealanders can play at the highest level internationally if given the right opportunities and support. 

Jordan Williams  Executive Director  New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

PS. The victory over the Health Research Council is a big win for taxpayers, but you know that we can’t stop here. We’re building up our reserves for election 2026 to ensure we can continue holding the government (and opposition parties!) accountable. If you want to see more wins like this, please donate to our fighting fund today.