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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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The government has reaffirmed its
position that there will be no Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Peter
Ellis case. Supporters and Ellis' lawyers are
seeking the inquiry into his 1993 conviction for molesting children at the
Christchurch Civic Creche. Ellis has always maintained his
innocence and served two thirds of his 10-year sentence. But in a letter to an Ellis
supporter, Associate Justice Minister Rick Barker has ruled out the option,
saying that a commission cannot be convened to determine guilt or innocence
as its primary purpose. He says that if Ellis wants to
pursue the matter, he should do so through the Privy Council. Ellis's lawyer Judith Ablett-Kerr
is questioning why a New Zealand case is being pushed toward the jurisdiction
of a British court. Ablett-Kerr says frustrating does
not even come close to describing how she feels after having the request for
a Royal Commission of Inquiry turned down. Ablett-Kerr believed articles in
the New Zealand Law Journal and an Otago University study cast both the
convictions and a ministerial inquiry into doubt. She says Associate Justice
Minister Rick Barker has relied on a prior select committee and the
ministerial inquiry to make his decision. The author of a book on the Peter
Ellis case is rejecting the government's reasons for refusing the commission
of inquiry. Lynley Hood, who wrote A City Possessed, says the case is not
just about Peter Ellis. And a change of leadership has
seen a change of stance from the National Party on the case. Prior to the
2005 election, then party leader Don Brash pledged National would institute a
Commission of Inquiry into the case if his party won. With the issue again in
the spotlight, current National leader John Key can't say if his party still
holds the same view. He says he would have to take it up with his caucus. |
