The Christchurch Civic Creche Case
	News Reports - Main Index 2005 Index 2 (Apr-July)
	Otago Daily Times July 27 2005 Ellis offer meets demands Letter to the Editor by Lynley Hood, Kew The petition initiated by Dr Don Brash in 2003 called for “a Royal Commission of Inquiry presided over by a judge or judges from overseas” (which is exactly what QC Judith Ablett Kerr wants). When Dr Brash recently renewed his commitment, National’s justice spokesman, Richard Worth, said “one option was to have an overseas judge review the history of events and evidence in the Ellis case, as was the case with Arthur Allan Thomas”. The Thomas inquiry took the form of a royal commission presided over by an overseas judge (which is exactly what Mrs Ablett Kerr wants). So what is Mrs Ablett Kerr’s problem? The hesitation of Dr Brash’s spokeswoman (ODT, 23.7.05) may have been prompted by this very question. [Lynley Hood is author of A City Possessed, on the controversy surrounding convicted sex offender Peter Ellis. — Ed.]