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Allegations
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The Te Awamutu family
of a slain army cadet are angry an inquiry ordered by Defence Minister Mark
Burton is being restricted. Grant Bain, 17, was
shot and killed by fellow cadet Andrew Read at the Regular Force Cadet School
in Waiouru in February 1981. Grant's brother, Murray
Bain, cannot understand why the inquiry is permitted only to query events
involved with the incident up to 30 minutes after the shooting. "Mark Burton said
on the Holmes show last week that they couldn't go any further because from
there it was a police matter. What's stopping the prime minister walking into
the defence and police ministers' offices and instructing them to carry out a
joint investigation?" Mr Bain said he didn't
accept Mr Burton's reasoning because his brother's killer had still been in
the army until March. The Bain family had
still not heard directly from the Defence Ministry six days after the
programme aired. "We did receive a
call from one of the Holmes show staff that the ministry had called and she
passed on a name of a woman who was to be our liaison,"Mr Bain said. "What does that
say about how they are treating this?" The defence minister
had asked the family to write to him directly last week to ensure no
misunderstandings but Mr Bain said this was unlikely. "In 2002 we
contacted our MP, National's Shane Arden, and New Zealand First's Ron Mark,
after we had found out the army was using photos of Grant's body for
training. "Originally the
army denied it, then they admitted they were using one photo; we have since
found out there were four," said Mr Bain. "I think we will
stick with our MP, Shane Arden, we won't be going through the minister,
things are more above board then." The family was upset
because the photos showed Grant Bain had died in the barracks -- the family
had been told he had died in hospital. "We requested the
file into Grant's death; we received a letter from Brigadier Rick Ottaway
declining our request. He wrote there was no compelling reason for the report
into my brother's death to be released to the family. What does that tell
you?" Murray Bain said the
family would like a full independent inquiry and believe this was the only
way they could reach closure. -------------------- CAPTION: NO CONTACT:
Defence Minister Mark Burton. |
