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The Press
September 30, 1996
Skeptics, candidate back calls for creche inquiry
by Vivienne Oakley
A call for a full parliamentary
inquiry into the handling of the Christchurch Civic creche investigation has
been backed by Alliance candidate Rod Donald and the New Zealand Skeptics.
Mr Donald, who is contesting the Banks Peninsula electorate this election,
had a daughter at the creche until just before it was closed.
The $1 million damages awarded by the Employment Court last year to former
Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre workers was drastically reduced last week
by the Court of Appeal.
The total damages were reduced to $172,978 after the Christchurch City
Council appealed against the decision.
The 13 creche workers and the city council were ordered to pay their own
legal costs in relation to both court hearings.
The workers were dismissed in September 1992 after the council decided to
close the creche in the midst of sexual-abuse allegations against a former
employee, Peter Ellis, and four women employees. The charges against the
women were dismissed before going to trial.
At the time the decision was released the husband of one of the dismissed
staff, Winston Wealleans, said the group would fight for a full parliamentary
inquiry into the handling of the creche investigation by the police and the
city council.
Skeptics treasurer Bernard Howard yesterday said the only way to clear the
air was to have a public inquiry.
At the annual meeting of the Skeptics, the group unanimously voted to grant
$2500 to the defence trust set up on behalf of Ellis, who is serving a
10-year sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing children at the
creche.
The trust was set up by supporters of Ellis. Dunedin barrister Judith
Ablett-Kerr QC has said she would take the case to the Privy Council in
London.
Professor Howard described the conviction and continued imprisonment of Ellis
as ''very disturbing''.
''The handling of the case needs to be the subject of an independent
inquiry.''
Mr Donald said if elected he would raise the matter with the appropriate
ministers.
''For family reasons I have not spoken out about the creche case before, but
I must agree with the former workers when they say that there are a number of
unanswered questions which need to be addressed.''
He said the inquiry would need to be conducted with ``great sensitivity'',
but there were important issues to be addressed such as the appropriateness
of the interview techniques used by social workers and whether the police
adequately followed their own procedures.
''As much as the rights and wrongs of the Civic case need to be examined, an
inquiry would identify improvements to procedures for any future sexual abuse
investigations.''
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