Don Brash Writes...
http://www.donbrash.com

An update from National's Finance spokesman
No. 10, 11 June 2003

Peter Ellis petition

And now, something totally unrelated to economics, or my role as National's Finance spokesman. For the past few weeks, I have been gathering signatures for a petition urging the Government to appoint a Royal Commission of Inquiry, presided over by a judge or judges from outside New Zealand, to look into all aspects of Peter Ellis's conviction in the early nineties. Why? Because I have read enough of Lynley Hood's book "A City Possessed: the Christchurch Civic Creche Case" to be seriously concerned that Peter Ellis's conviction may have been entirely wrong. Katherine Rich and I have been helping Lynley Hood assemble the petition.

We haven't tried to get thousands of signatures - we don't have the time or the resources to do that - so instead we have tried to gain support from those whom the Government is most likely to take seriously. To date, Members of Parliament from five of the parties in Parliament have signed, together with a number of Queens Counsel, several professors of law, prominent former politicians (including David Lange, Mike Moore, Michael Bassett and David Caygill), writers and members of the media.

It's a serious matter when a guilty person goes free. It's at least as serious when an innocent person is convicted of a crime. Peter Ellis may be guilty or innocent, but there are too many questions unanswered to let the matter rest.

Don Brash