Southland Times
June 26 2003
A minister possessed
Editorial
A retired High
Court judge says he has serious misgivings about the Christchurch Civic Creche
child abuse case.
One hundred and forty prominent New Zealanders, including two former prime
ministers, MPs from all parties and prominent lawyers, have signed a petition
calling for a royal commission of inquiry into former childcare worker Peter Ellis'
conviction.
Lynley Hood's book, A City Possessed, presented a compelling argument that the
judicial system failed Ellis.
Of course, none of these occurrences is reason to state emphatically that Ellis
was innocent. But each adds considerable weight to the opinion held by a large
number of New Zealanders that there are reasonable doubts about whether Ellis
was guilty.
A decade after Ellis' imprisonment in 1993 these doubts continue to gnaw away
at the public conscience. The Civic Creche case was the most sensational of its
kind in
Hood's book painted a picture of a city caught in the grip of a form of mass
hysteria, a moral panic similar to that experienced in the American town of
Ellis has already served his time, and to his real credit is politely
distancing himself from this latest public rally. But this petition, like
previous calls for a review of the case, is more about satisfying New
Zealanders' confidence in their justice system than it is about clearing Ellis'
name.
A full review of all the evidence could arrive at the conclusion that Ellis was
guilty but until all the evidence is reviewed, that question, like so many
others about the case, will remain unanswered and confidence in the judiciary
will continue to be eroded.
Justice Minister Phil Goff's continued refusal to order a royal commission
isn't improving the public's perception that justice has not been done.
Mr Goff has the power to settle public disquiet but clings obstinately to the
view that the High Court trial, two Court of Appeal hearings and a ministerial
inquiry got it right and that only the presentation of new evidence would be
grounds for a full inquiry.
There are reasons why Mr Goff doesn't want to order a royal commission. They
are expensive, complex and cumbersome affairs, and they can re-open victims'
old wounds, but they have their uses.
Pukekawa farmer Arthur Allan Thomas had good cause to be thankful for the royal
commission into his case. He spent nine years in prison after twice being
convicted of the 1970 murder of his neighbours Jeanette and Harvey Crewe but
was freed, pardoned and paid compensation after the inquiry found police
planted evidence incriminating him.
Mr Goff understands that criticisms of the Ellis case strike at the very heart
of the judiciary but fails to accept that the judiciary is human too and
therefore, like all humans, fallible.
It would take a brave and decisive minister to publicly accept the possibility
that a failure occurred in the justice system and that the failure could not be
corrected from within.
As an idealistic and energetic Opposition MP in the 1990s, Mr Goff once called
for a full inquiry into the Ellis case.
Now that he has the power to do something about it, where is the courage to
match his earlier conviction? Public unease about the Ellis case will continue
to haunt this Government and others in the future if it is not settled once and
for all.
Mr Goff can bring closure to this sordid chapter in