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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Bruce and Murray Bain
of Te Awamutu have had only one priority in their pursuit of the facts about
the death of their younger brother, Grant at the Army’s Waiouru cadet school
in 1981 - the truth. For the past 23 years
they have been convinced that the Army’s version of events is a cover-up and
that the court of enquiry was unable to hand down the proper verdict. They will never accept
the fact that the cadet responsible, Andrew William Read, was charged only
with causing death by carelessly misusing a firearm. They believe a
damage-control exercise, involving the Police as well as Army, prevented a
more appropriate charge of manslaughter being brought. Grant Bain was 17 when
he was threatened with a loaded .223 rifle and shot in the neck at the
Waiouru barracks. It was February 13,
1981 when Read (17) threatened Grant. Grant pushed the gun away and it fired.
Police charged Read with careless use of a firearm. He pleaded guilty and
received a $200 fine and 200 hours community service - served at the Army’s
Waiouru golf course. The brothers’ father,
Neil, relentlessly pursued the truth for several years after Grant’s death,
but had to give up his case for justice because it was proving too stressful
for the boys’ mother, Valerie. “We basically agreed to
abide by Mum’s wishes,” Murray Bain told the Courier. “She wanted us all to
move on, remembering the good things about Grant’s life.” In 1999 the brothers
buried their mother at Te Awamutu Cemetery, alongside Grant. When they heard
three-and-a-half years ago that a photo of Grant, lying dead on the barracks
floor at Waiouru, was being used in Army training they could not believe their
ears. “We checked with the
Army, who flatly denied it,” Bruce Bain says. “But people from Te Awamutu had
seen the photo and they were certain it was of Grant. We had been told in ‘81
by the Army that he had died in hospital after the shooting. We demanded the
Army tell us which version of events was correct.” But like virtually
every detail the family has been able to glean about Grant’s death, they had
to follow a route that always ended up with the Ombudsman. With the help of local
MP Shane Ardern and New Zealand First MP, Ron Marks, a former army officer,
they eventually obtained a copy of the photo from the Ombudsman. It confirmed
the Army’s version of events was incorrect - certainly in respect of where
Grant died. The Bain brothers were back on the case in earnest. They say they were told
by Hamilton Police that a large file on Grant’s case existed and that they
would be entitled to receive a copy. Later they were told that was incorrect
and the file had been destroyed.They say this was typical of the ‘road
blocks’ they have encountered at every turn as they have tried to find the
truth about their brother’s case. The civil court case
was held the same day as Grant’s funeral - the family were not informed and
could not attend, obviously, and nor could most of the witnesses to the
barracks shooting, who were also at the funeral. A large number of
military personnel attended the funeral in Te Awamutu - although the Bain
family resisted attempts to have it conducted as a military funeral. “Dad told the Army,
we’ve had Grant for 17 years, you had him for three weeks,” Murray Bain says. The brothers say their
father was told by Hamilton Police detective inspector Phil Berryman that the
charge should have been at least manslaughter, if not murder. When former cadet, Ian
Fraser recently posted a report on the internet detailing abuse of cadets as
young as 15 at the cadet school during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, it prompted
other former cadets to reveal more allegations of abuse. Bruce Bain says it also
brought forward witnesses to their brother’s death. “We heard from the cadet
who was placed in charge of Grant’s body after the shooting, the medic who
was an ex cadet himself who attended and one of the other three cadets in the
room. “Some of what we have
been told differs markedly from the Army’s version.” The brothers have faced
a ‘media frenzy’ since the news hit the Herald on Tuesday. When the Courier
interviewed them yesterday they were heading off to Auckland to talk with the
makers of a prominent documentary series, who they have been dealing with for
18 months - having this week turned down many major media, including Holmes. They say local MP Shane
Ardern has been magnifi cent in his efforts on their behalf (as was Marilyn
Waring in 1981, but she basically hit a ‘brick wall’). He rang yesterday to
say he would be raising a question in the House for Defence Minister, Mark
Burton. He was to ask whether
the Bain case was part of the ‘urgent enquiry’ into the cadet school that had
been launched, and if not why not? If it was, Mr Ardern
also wanted to ask why then when he contacted Mr Burton two years ago to ask
for the court of enquiry notes, was he told that the case was “an isolated
one from 21 years ago and should be left alone”. The Bain brothers are
also chasing an audience with Defence Minister, Mark Burton, who has launched
an enquiry into goings on at the cadet school. “It was heartening to
hear Prime Minister Helen Clark say on television last night that she
believed it was at least a case for manslaughter,” Murray Bain says “We are
determined to see this through for Grant.” |
