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The
Christchurch Civic Creche Case |
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A parliamentary inquiry
into the Christchurch civic creche case has recommended the way be cleared
for Peter Ellis to appeal to the Privy Council and for the taxpayer to pay
for it. Parliament's justice
and electoral select committee yesterday released its long-awaited report
into a petition by Ellis supporters, including National leader Don Brash,
demanding an inquiry into the case. The committee rejected
a requested royal commission, but recommended the Attorney-General not oppose
a new application by Ellis for leave to appeal to the Privy Council and
recommended the Legal Services Agency provide legal aid for the bid. The committee also
recommended: The new 2005-08 justice
and electoral committee investigate amendments to legislation governing
children's statements, trial counsel and the role of experts in considering
children's evidence. A Criminal Cases Review
Authority be established to deal with people alleging a miscarriage of
justice. Law changes to ensure
those accused by multiple complainants were not prejudiced by the totality of
the charges. Ellis told The Press he
was disappointed but not surprised the committee had denied his request for a
royal commission of inquiry. He was pleased the committee's recommendations
could in future help those falsely accused of sex crimes against children. "The
recommendations are good in a sense that they at least admit there were some
problems in the way they (the court system) look at kids' testimony," he
said. Ellis was convicted in
1993 on 16 sexual abuse charges based on the testimony of seven children who
attended Christchurch's Civic Childcare Centre. One of the children later
withdrew her complaint during an appeal against his High Court convictions. Ellis said he was considering
an appeal to the Privy Council. It was important to
weigh up the options – whether to appeal to the Privy Council or wait and see
whether a National government would grant a royal commission of inquiry. Ellis supporter and
author of A City Possessed: the Christchurch Civic Creche case, Lynley Hood,
said the case had a strong public following and successive governments had
failed to deal with it. Hood did not accept
that the solutions offered eclipsed the need for a commission of inquiry. "The same people
who were involved in the investigation and prosecution of the creche case are
still investigating and prosecuting sex cases now and making the same
mistakes," Hood said. "Until it's
brought home to them that they stuffed up they are going to keep on making
the same mistakes. The past has to be faced up to if we are going to learn
from it," she said. Sooner or later it
would need a full independent inquiry. Ellis said he hoped the
committee's recommendations would prompt men to return to the preschool
teaching profession. He said the release of
the report two days before Parliament's closure meant its findings could be
ignored by a new government. "It's not binding
... because they (parliamentarians) are all disappearing," he said. Justice and electoral
select committee chairman Tim Barnett said the committee rejected the option
of a royal commission because tweaking current laws would "do much more
to improve the standards of justice in our community". He said the committee's
findings went further than a royal commission. Barnett said the
committee's recommendations considered Ellis's future legal options as well
as how miscarriage of justice allegations and evidence from children should
be handled in the future. The committee had taken
two years to deliver its findings because Ellis's was a complex "live
case" and the group was also busy deciding many other issues of law and
order, Barnett said. Brash said he was
disappointed the select committee had not ordered a royal commission. He said
there were "too many unanswered questions" surrounding the Ellis
case. But Brash said he could not guarantee Ellis would get a royal
commission even if National won next month's election. "I was convinced
in 2003 that a royal commission of inquiry was judged the best inquiry at the
time." Brash said he would
"take advice" on the "most appropriate" form of inquiry
if he came to power. Brash said the form of
inquiry was less important than whether the investigation "gave the
public confidence that the matter had been dealt with thoroughly". Long-time Ellis
supporter Winston Wealleans said the select committee finding was
"absolute nonsense" because it failed to address miscarriages of
justice specific to the creche worker's case. "We wanted his
case solved," he said. "It shows there are problems with the way
Ellis's case was conducted, so why have they just ignored that?" Wealleans said Ellis's
supporters would fight to clear his name. The group would use its website to
release new evidence |
