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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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As evidence of cadet
abuse continued to mount, the officer in charge of army schools in the 1980s
said today they were under-resourced and supervision was at times impossible.
Colonel Brian Monk was
commandant of training schools at the time cadet Grant Bain was killed in a
firearm incident. "It was a tragedy
which occurred on my watch over 20 years ago," he said. "I instituted the
court of inquiry into that incident." The inquiry found that
another cadet, lance corporal Andrew Read, loaded his rifle and fired it at
Mr Bain during a "western movie" type of confrontation. Col Monk said Mr Read
was discharged from the army shortly after the incident. "I was concerned
about resourcing. I suspect the army was going through yet another
retrenchment and limitation on resources," he said on National Radio. "There's no way
you could lay on 24/7 supervision of cadets. . . but I would be astounded if
dedicated officers and NCOs were not doing the very best possible for the
cadets." The shooting incident
is the worst of a spate of allegations of violent abuse at the school during
the 1980s. Defence Minister Mark
Burton has ordered an inquiry, and his office has received 60 calls since Ian
Fraser, a former cadet, went public last weekend. Mr Fraser said
yesterday he had received more than 100 emails from other cadets who had
suffered at the school. An Auckland newspaper
reported today that former All Black Stan "Tiny" Hill ran the
barracks during the years the alleged abuses took place. Mr Hill, now aged 77,
told the paper the cadets were treated honestly in the proper military way. Mr Hill said he had
never assaulted a cadet, although he believed some non-commissioned officers
may have overstepped the mark. "I know people say
that I was a sadist. I was called a bastard many times, but never mind,"
he said. "We dealt with the
things the way we saw it at the time and there was no grizzling and the job
went on." A cadet who was at the
school during Mr Hill's time, Eric West, said he was hospitalised for a week
with a displaced tailbone after a beating. "One has to say
that Stan Hill, there was little warmth in the man. He was totally unsuitable
for the job," Mr West said. Mr Hill played 11 tests
for the All Blacks, including three against the Springboks in the famous 1956
series in New Zealand. |
