The Dominion Post
July 29 2003

MP may stand down from creche hearing
by David McLoughlin

ACT NZ list MP Stephen Franks is considering standing aside from a parliamentary committee that will hear the Christchurch Civic Creche case petition because he signed it.

Mr Franks is one of several MPs from all parties in Parliament who signed the petition, which calls for a royal commission into the case, in which daycare worker Peter Ellis was sentenced to 10 years' jail in 1993 on 16 charges of abusing children.

Mr Franks is the only member of the justice and electoral select committee to have signed the petition.

Mr Franks, the deputy chairman of the committee, said yesterday that he had told the committee he would probably stand aside during hearings on the petition, presented to Parliament by National MPs Katherine Rich and Don Brash.

It was signed by 140 prominent New Zealanders including many lawyers and a retired High Court judge and expressed concern that there might have been a miscarriage of justice in the case.

Mr Franks said no one had asked him to stand aside from the committee. "I know it's a political role not a judicial one but I thought there would be a rule saying I couldn't sit on it. Now I am told there is no such rule, but I'm not comfortable about it."

The committee chairman is Christchurch Central MP Tim Barnett, whose electorate includes the creche, which was was closed in 1992 amid allegations of mass abuse of children there.

Mr Barnett said he was asked to sign the petition but had not, because he knew he would be chairing the hearings and did not want to be seen to be taking sides.

He expected the hearings would begin in September and would probably be open to the public for the taking of evidence from the petitioners and the Justice Ministry.

Justice Minister Phil Goff has ruled out an inquiry unless new evidence is presented.