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This page last updated
March 19 2005
2003-0928 - Sunday
Star Times - Justice for Ellis? What a laugh
Geoff Levick - Your soapbox writer Jeffrey Masson (September 21) has
missed the point. Our justice system has clearly failed in the Peter Ellis
case. There are a lot of questions unanswered.
2003-0928 - Sunday
Star Times - Ellis doubt
Allan Lemm - It is blatantly obvious Ellis was convicted on evidence
not beyond reasonable doubt. The case is just the tip of the new sexual abuse
industry.
2003-0928 - Sunday
Star Times - It's a fraud
Derek Browne - In the Peter Ellis case, the interviews with young
children yielded some usable results and some incredible results. The
incredible results show that the procedure used was unreliable. However the
usable results were presented in evidence and the incredible results were
suppressed. That is analogous to scientific fraud.
2003-0928 - Sunday
Star Times - Case an indictment
Dr Michael Cresswell - In his soapbox article professor Jeffrey Masson
chose to attack Lynley Hood, rather than discuss the innocence or guilt of
Peter Ellis. He needs to realise the innocence of Ellis is not something Hood
invented.
2003-0927 - NZ
Herald - Male teachers staying out of shadows
by Michele Hewitson - The "Peter Ellis Syndrome" is in large
part what is keeping men out of teaching - or causing them to leave. Being seen
as a potential paedophile is hardly attractive. .....The danger is the shadow
of Ellis. It has made teaching, as one former trainee said this week,
"cold, calculated and way too PC".
2003-0927 - Listener
Oct 4 - Child abuse and the experts
by John Anderson - The ongoing disquiet over the Peter Ellis affair is
not just about whether a miscarriage of justice has occurred in this one
case, but as to whether the law as it stands is capable of providing justice.
The minister would do well to institute an inquiry into just what opinion
evidence should be permitted in child-sex-abuse cases. His assumption that
the Ellis conviction is correct seems predicated on the belief that the Court
of Appeal cannot get it wrong, and ignores the likelihood that the evidence
the court relied on was, itself, unreliable.
2003-0926 - NBR -
Justice could be the ultimate victim
by Nick Smith - Questions about the quality of New Zealand's justice system
have never been more pertinent. While the government bulldozes its Supreme
Court Bill through Parliament, there is growing public disquiet about
apparent miscarriages of justice.
Peter Ellis, David Bain, Scott Watson and the fisherman Rex Haig
convicted of the 1995 slaying of a crewman make up a quartet of claims of
wrongful conviction that is eroding public confidence in a judiciary that
until recently scored highly.
2003-0926 - NZ Herald -
Ellis commission needed
by Alan Wilkinson - Unfortunately, Peter Ellis needs aggressive defence
against the emotional blackmail exercised by some "child abuse"
fanatics. It should be unnecessary, but is not to re-emphasise that both
genuine victims of abuse and victims of false accusations will benefit from
improving reliability and public confidence in the way these cases are
handled and by distinguishing the competent and rational from incompetent and/or
emotionally entangled professionals.
2003-0926 - NZ
Herald - Male staff essential in our schools
Editorial - The Ellis case, as [Alison Jones] says, "was widely
seen as an example of social hysteria rather than sexual abuse". The
damage the case has done the recruitment of male teachers could be repaired
by the enquiry that Ellis' defenders seek. Men might not run the risk of
returning to child services until the mode of investigation of suspected
abuse is objectively reviewed.
2003-0925 - Maxim
Institute - The Peter Ellis syndrome
Men
are not entering early childhood or primary teaching as they used to. One
researcher has called this the Peter Ellis syndrome. It's hardly surprising
in light of this case that fewer men are applying for these positions, or
that those working in these areas are frustrated and fearful. Political
correctness (PC) does that to people.
2003-0925
- NZ Herald - Deliver us from those who know what's best for us
by
Garth George - Next we are confronted (again) with the shortage of men in
primary school teaching resulting from what has become known as the
"Peter Ellis Syndrome" - the one that tells the paranoid that if a
male teacher as much as pats a child on the head he is likely to be a child
molester
2003-0924
- Marlborough Express - Political correctness gone mad
Editorial - Ever since cases like the allegations of child abuse against
Christchurch creche worker Peter Ellis, male teachers have had a cloud of
suspicion hanging over them. It shows the politically correct world has
overreacted
2003-0923 - NZ
Herald - 'Ellis syndrome' puts men off teaching
by Alan Perrott - Fear of falling victim to the "Peter Ellis
syndrome" is stopping men from becoming primary school teachers,
according to a study. Researcher Ian Livingstone sayss men are reluctant
teachers because they fear being seen as potential child abusers, and the
industry is also considered low paid and of low social status.
2003-0923
- Dominion Post - Ellis book distorts case, say academics
by Linley Boniface - Two distinguished academics have launched an
attack in The New Zealand Law Journal on author Lynley Hood's book about the
Peter Ellis child abuse case. In the hard-hitting 3000-word article, Emma
Davies and Jeffrey Masson said Ms Hood had misrepresented some of the
research into child sex abuse and suggested her analysis of the issues involved
could not be trusted.
2003-0923 - Dominion Post -
Proper role of MPs
by Tighe Instone - Opposition leader Bill English is right to distance
himself from the actions of the two National MPs who signed a petition
calling for a royal commission of inquiry into the 1993 conviction of
Christchurch Civic Creche worker Peter Ellis (Sept 19).
2003-0922 - Otago Daily
Times - Thomas backs Ellis inquiry
NZPA
- Arthur Allan Thomas is backing a call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry
into the Peter Ellis affair. Mr Thomas, his wife Jennifer, and other family
members have signed a second petition demanding a wider inquiry into the
handling of the Christchurch Civic Creche child-abuse case
2003-0922
- NZ Herald - Thomas supports calls for inquiry into Ellis affair
NZPA - Arthur Allan Thomas is backing a call for a royal commission of
inquiry into the Peter Ellis affair..... Mr Thomas, who was at the centre of
New Zealand's most talked-about judicial travesty, said the conviction of
Ellis was as close to his own miscarriage of justice as any case he had seen.
He urged Justice Minister Phil Goff to "look, seek and find out".
2003-0922 - The Press -
Thomas backs inquiry
by
Anna Claridge - Arthur Allan Thomas, the man at the centre of New Zealand's
most talked-about judicial travesty, is backing a call for a Royal Commission
of Inquiry into the Peter Ellis case. ...... The second petition - which
already has more than 5000 signatures - is to be launched at Canterbury
University on October 6. It would then be presented to Parliament, and
eventually get added to the original petition.
2003-0921 -
Sunday Star Times - There should be an inquiry into the Christchurch creche
case
by Don Brash - There is now a wide spread consensus that in the creche
case the justice system failed at many levels and, so far at least, has been
unable to self-correct…..Unease about the safety of Peter Ellis’s convictions
is based on many well-founded concerns: that the evidence was contaminated;
that the allegations were improbable or unbelievable; that the jury did not
see the full picture; and that two appeal courts and a ministerial inquiry
failed to properly review the whole case.
2003-0921 - Sunday Star Times -
There should not be an inquiry into the Christchurch creche case
by Jeffrey Masson - this case has been viewed and reviewed many times
by completely independent experts, none of whom would have any reason to want
to find Ellis guilty and provided with thousands of pages of documents and
testimony unseen by the general public. ….It would be a perversion of justice
to overrule their guilty verdict on the basis of a biased, ignorant and
woefully inadequate book.
2003-0920 - Listener Sept 27 -
Something to prove
by Bruce Ansley - Peter Ellis, having served his jail term for sexually
abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Creche, simply refuses to go away.
Doubts over the justice of his conviction are so widespread and so well
documented, particularly by Lynley Hood's A
City Possessed, that they have become a permanent fixture in public
mistrust.
2003-0920 - Listener Sept 27
- Child abuse and the experts
by Ian Hassall - How common is child sexual abuse, who does it and how can
they be identified? What harm does it do and how can this best be alleviated?
How common are false accusations and retractions and how can they be
identified? Do children have the independent right of access to the justice
system? Is children's evidence reliable and how can this be tested? How can
children's access to New Zealand's justice system be improved?
2003-0920 - Listener Sept 27
- Child abuse and the experts
by Dora May Sutcliffe - Where will it all end? … In Ellis being cleared of
all these ridiculous charges, I hope.
2003-0920 - Listener Sept 27
- Child abuse and the experts
by Dr John Read - There is nothing wrong with having opinions. It is
incumbent on academics, however, to differentiate our opinions from scientific
facts. Corballis's article reminds us that this is no easy task
2003-0920 -
Dominion Post - Power to pardon in new appeal body
by Martin Kay - Some of New Zealand's most controversial criminal
convictions could be reconsidered under proposals to overhaul the appeal
system. The Justice Ministry has recommended the establishment of an
independent board to consider possible miscarriages of justice. The board
will have the power to recommend pardons or refer cases back to the Court of
Appeal for a new hearing. The move could pave the way for some of New
Zealand's most contentious cases, such as the conviction of Peter Ellis for
child abuse at the Cristchurch Civic Creche, to be re-examined.
2003-0919 - Otago Daily Times -
MPs look at petition calling for inquiry into Ellis case
NZPA - "We consider that the key issue for us to determine is
whether or not the Christchurch Civic Creche case raises concerns of
sufficient significance to justify a royal commission," the committee
said.
2003-0919 - One News - Franks to stay on
Ellis inquiry
Act MP Stephen Franks is defiant in the face of calls for him to step
down from a Parliamentary inquiry into the Christchurch Civic Creche case.
2003-0919 - Newsgroups - Justice and
Electoral Committee
by Denver Fletcher - Let's be perfectly candid: the adherents to the status
quo are here accusing any and all who differ from their orthodoxy of being
dishonest for doing so, while proclaiming their own pristine purity of
character even as the very act of their speaking thus tells us plainly
otherwise.
2003-0919 - Newstalk ZB - Author says
positive step taken in Ellis case
The author of a book on convicted child molester Peter Ellis, says a
parliamentary select committee's decision to probe the Christchurch Civic
Creche case is a positive step.....Ms Hood says the move is a step in the
right direction, because there is a lot of concern that the justice system
has failed, and has also failed to correct itself. She believes that has
implications for all New Zealanders.
2003-0919 - NZ Herald - Ellis petition
brings probe
by Ruth Berry - A select committee will investigate a petition calling
for a royal commission of inquiry to held into the Peter Ellis Christchurch
civic creche case. Parliament's justice and electoral committee chairman, Tim
Barnett, yesterday announced terms for a limited inquiry, after being
presented with an 807-signature petition.
2003-0919 - The Press - MP 'cannot be
disqualified'
by Tracy Watkins - Committee chairman Tim Barnett said yesterday it
had no procedural grounds for disqualifying MPs, after criticism of ACT MP
Stephen Franks joining other prominent New Zealanders including National MPs
Don Brash and Katherine Rich in signing the petition. Mr Franks is on the 11
member committee which will decide whether to recommend a Commission of
Inquiry into Mr Ellis' convictions.
2003-0919 - Dominion Post - Petition MP
defends Ellis inquiry role
by Tracy Watkins - An MP who signed a petition for a Commission of
Inquiry into the Peter Ellis case is refusing to step down from the
parliamentary inquiry. ..... "My starting position has been
disclosed. I came to Parliament to press and vote for good law. In this area
I know there is widespread concern among practising criminal lawyers. The
balance between properly testing evidence to avoid wrongful conviction and
concern for witnesses may have swung too far in one direction."
2003-0919 - Dominion Post - English backs
away from Brash's petition for Ellis
by Linley Boniface - National Party leader Bill English has written to
the mother of a Christchurch Civic Creche case victim to distance himself
from the actions of two of his MPs. .... "These MPs are
acting in a personal capacity. In no way do they represent a National Party
position," Mr English wrote. "In the view of the party, Mr Ellis is
no different to any other convicted criminal."
2003-0918 -
Stephen Franks MP - Public letter to Women's Refuge (pdf file)
Your letter of 2 September to Mr Goff, objecting to my participation
in consideration of the petition on the Ellis case, has been copied to me
....
2003-0918 - NZPA - MPs
look at Peter Ellis petition
A parliamentary committee has cautiously begun examining a petition
calling for a royal commission of inquiry into Peter Ellis' conviction in the
Christchurch civic creche child abuse case.
2003-0918 - One News -
Another Ellis Inquiry?
A
parliamentary select committee will conduct an initial inquiry into whether
the way the Christchurch Civic Creche case was conducted raises enough
concerns to merit a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
2003-0918 -
Newstalk ZB - Committee to investigate Ellis case
A
parliamentary committee is to investigate whether a Royal Commission of
Inquiry is needed into the Christchurch Civic Creche case. The decision
follows a petition to the Justice and Electoral Committee from pro-Peter
Ellis campaigners Lynley Hood and National MP Don Brash
2003-0917
- The Independent - Govt exploits our lack of a constitution
by Brendon Harr - Labour has taken cronyism to new levels in the public
sector; it wants to appoint the judges. It breaks electoral conventions, like
not governing for the full term. It didn't trust the voters to sort out
Duynhoven's mistake, preferring to manipulate Parliament instead. It ignores
the public's plea for an independent review of the sexual abuse hysteria and
Peter Ellis' conviction.
2003-0917 - NZ
Parliament - Petition of Lynley Jane Hood and Dr Don Brash and 807 others
Justice and Electoral Committee - The committee has made a number of
decisions with regard to this petition:
2003-0917 - Daily
News - Spin-tutor Edwards is out of order in displaying politics
Editorial - ......A month later, Edwards did something similar when he grilled
Christchurch Civic Creche case author Lynley Hood, whose book about Peter
Ellis is proving to be a thorn in the Labour Government's side. Both Hide and Hood complained to TVNZ,
alleging imbalance, bias and excessive aggression on what purports to be a
lifestyle programme.
2003-0917 - NZ Herald
- Memory a sucker for fabrication
by
Denis Dutton - Which brings us to a twist in the Peter Ellis case, a stunning
interview carried by Radio New Zealand. Nathan, as he was named, is a
22-year-old Christchurch resident who had been at the Civic Creche for a
short time in 1985. He, too, now claims that Peter Ellis had abused him.........
What is astonishing is that Radio New Zealand would give him 40 minutes to
share with the nation the genesis of his problems - those dreadful
experiences at age 4 at a creche that did not then have Ellis on its staff.
2003-0916 - Dominion
Post - Distorted testimony
by
H W Mulgan - The only good I see coming from Clark's interview with
"Nathan" is that it provides a powerful demonstration of the fact
that apparently sincere young adults can and do provide distorted testimony
about childhood events.
2003-0916 - Daily News - Goff
wins Bent Can Opener Award from Skeptics
NZPA - Justice Minister Phil Goff has won the first-ever Bent Can Opener
Award from the New Zealand Skeptics, for refusing to revisit the Christchurch
Civic Creche case. For 10 years, the skeptics
have made an annual Bent Spoon Award, in remembrance of spoon bender Uri
Geller. They felt that a change in implement was necessary for an award that
will be officially conferred at this weekend's annual Skeptics Conference in
Wellington. ....... "We recognise that it is a can of worms for the
minister, but it is one that needs to be opened if we are to continue to have
confidence in our justice system."
2003-0916 - Press - Skeptics
bestow award on Goff
Justice Minister Phil Goff may have to clear
some space on his mantelpiece after winning the inaugural Bent Can Opener
Award. Mr Goff was named as the first
recipient of the award yesterday by the New Zealand Skeptics group, which
said he won it for refusing to "open the can of worms that is the
Christchurch Civic Creche Case".
2003-0914 - Trauma
Conference, Melbourne - John Read's "bizarre case"
by John Read - In New Zealand currently we have a bizarre case
where, I would call in hysteria in the other way in fact, hysteria around a
particular case that has been to trial, appeal court, two reviews, and still
we have people all over New Zealand jumping up and down signing petitions
asking for a third review.
2003-0913 - NZ Herald - Edwards
under fire
Dunedin author Lynley Hood, who is campaigning for a royal commission
into the Christchurch Civic Creche case, has complained to TVNZ that Brian
Edwards "ambushed" her in a hostile interview
2003-0912 - Nelson Mail - Hood
'ambushed'
NZPA - In a formal complaint to TVNZ chief executive Ian Fraser, Hood
claims Edwards' political affiliations had prejudiced his view of the sex
abuse case against former creche worker Peter Ellis
2003-0912 - The Press
- Edwards' stance hostile - Hood
NZPA - Broadcaster Brian Edwards has been accused of ambushing
Christchurch Civic Creche case campaigner Lynley Hood in a hostile television
interview. A formal complaint by Ms Hood to TVNZ also alleges political links
coloured Dr Edwards' views on the controversial sex abuse case. She claims
the veteran interviewer adopted a "hectoring, sneering tone" during
the chat show, Edwards at Large
2003-0911 -
Parliament - Don Brash Questions to Phil Goff
Don Brash (National) questions Phil Goff (Labour)(Minister of Justice) about
subjects relating to the Brian Edwards interview with Lynley Hood
2003-0911
- NZPA - Brian Edwards under attack again for political links
Dunedin author Lynley Hood, who is campaigning for a royal commission
into the Christchurch Civic Creche case, has complained to TVNZ about Brian
Edwards "ambushing" her in a hostile interview. In a formal
complaint to TVNZ chief executive Ian Fraser, Hood claims Edwards' political
affiliations had prejudiced his view of the sex abuse case against former
creche worker Peter Ellis. She says Edwards breached broadcasting standards
on balance, impartiality and fairness
2003-0907 - Sunday Star Times
- Goff should go
by
Katherine Murry - Phil Goff has failed to demonstrate adequate levels of
either competence or understanding of the responsibilities of his post in
seeing justice served in the Peter Ellis case
2003-0906 - Listener Sept 13 -
Memory and the Law
by Michael C Corballis - [A City
Possessed] is a compelling document, and stands in marked contrast to the
report produced by Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, the judge who undertook the most
recent appeal against Ellis's conviction. The Eichelbaum report concluded
that the appeal failed "by a considerable margin". Part of the
difference, of course, is that Eichelbaum was constrained by his terms of
reference, whereas Hood enjoyed the freedom, and the time, to examine any
aspect of the case as she saw fit.
2003-0905
- Government - Justice and Electoral Committee
The committee will also consider three petitions it currently has before
it; one of these is the petition of Lynley Hood and Dr Donald Brash and 807
others. The meeting is not open to the public
2003-0904 - The
Press - An inquiry is needed into the
case
by Bernard Robertson - Psychologists regularly give opinions which
result in families being broken up, people going to jail, people being
released from or kept in jail. This is a house of cards and the Ellis case is
the card that could bring it all tumbling down....... This is why there needs
to be an inquiry into the Peter Ellis case, and this is the reason why the
establishment is vigorously resisting an inquiry. It is not just a matter of
the guilt or innocence of Peter Ellis but of (among other things) the whole
functioning of the judicial system and the role of psychologists in it.
2003-0904 - The
Press - Why adults choose not to hear
what abused children have to say
by Chris Goddard
and Neerosh Mudaly - Child death inquiries from around the world have
repeatedly shown that we do not want to talk to child victims and do not
listen when they try to reveal what is happening to them. Children and young
people who have been abused and neglected are rarely heard ...
2003-0903 -
The Press - Ellis petition goes before committee
by Matt Conway - Today the high-profile petition on the conviction of
Peter Ellis moves on to the parliamentary stage.......Just how realistic are
the hopes of Ellis supporters pushing for a full inquiry? What political
forces (overt and unseen) might come into play? And, most intriguingly of
all, if the committee backs an inquiry, will the Government support the call
or snuff it out?
2003-0903
- Newstalk ZB - Committee decides on handling of Ellis petition
A Parliamentary committee will begin deciding today on how best to
deal with the petition calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the
case of ... Peter Ellis....... it may be several weeks before the committee
finalises how it will approach the issue.
2003-0902 - The Press - Ellis Case
by Max Podstolski - The children in the Ellis case should be believed,
say N. Buchanan (August 30) and other anti-Lynley Hood campaigners. Since
false memories in their view have nothing to do with it, can they explain the
many patently absurd details in the children's transcripts, such as being
hung in cages? Ellis' mother was also mentioned -- does anyone seriously
believe she was guilty of ritual abuse too?
2003-0901 - Dominion Post - To
the Point
by Anthony Frith - Why should Peter Ellis’s defence team have to
produce new evidence when the prosecution never had to produce any to start
with?
2003-0901 -
Dominion Post - Who leaked the transcripts?
by S Libeau - The rules are that the tapes can be shown, but not
copied or disseminated to any third party. There has been a vague hint that a
transcript went missing during the case and I have no doubt that someone
leaked these transcripts. The question is, who did?
2003-0900
- NZ Law Journal - Christchurch Crèche Case: an author possessed?
Emma Davies and Jeffrey Masson - Unlike some of the petitioners, we cannot
comment on the guilt or innocence of Peter Ellis, but if the research of the
first three chapters of Lynley Hood's book is anything to go by, one should
be cautious about the neutrality of her analysis. Weaving a story and
selecting facts to fit the story is not the same as carefully documenting the
history of events.
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