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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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The man who triggered
an investigation into alleged abuse at the army cadet school in Waiouru says
he is "relatively comfortable" with limited details of an inquiry
issued yesterday. The Government has
appointed former High Court judge David Morris independent assessor to look
into the alleged abuse at the former Regular Force Cadet School, but it will
be another week before the terms of reference for the ministerial inquiry are
made public. Defence Minister Mark
Burton said Justice Morris would "separate issues of mistreatment from
more serious allegations that, even in the context of time, may amount to
criminal offences". The claims date back 25 to 45 years. A ministerial inquiry
does not have the power to summon witnesses or take evidence under oath. Former army sergeant
Ian Fraser, who has received 350 allegations of abuse since he first raised
concerns about behaviour at the school, said Justice Morris seemed a good
choice. "He certainly
doesn't appear to be an establishment figure. He appears to be a free thinker
and someone who isn't afraid of stirring up a bit of controversy so yes, I am
quite happy with the appointment." Justice Morris had been
involved with the National Women's Hospital cervical cancer inquiry, the Erebus
commission of inquiry and investigations into the Mr Asia drug ring. He
created a furore in 1996 when he summed up a rape trial by saying "if
every man stopped the first time a woman said 'no', the world would be a much
less exciting place to live". Mr Fraser said he would
have preferred an inquiry that could have taken evidence on oath because some
witnesses might have a guilty conscience and might not want to give evidence.
After discussions with
Mr Burton's office, he was satisfied with the explanation that a commission
of inquiry would have taken much longer. He would be consulted about terms of
reference before they were published. He had been assured Police Minister
George Hawkins would cooperate with the inquiry if the assessor needed to
look at police documents. Mr Burton said the army
would fully cooperate with the inquiry, "making available all relevant
existing information in a timely manner". A spokeswoman said some
records might not be available because they must be destroyed after a set time.
"I understand they
may be some things like disciplinary records . . . but in terms of personnel
records I think they are held indefinitely." She agreed that meant
it might not be possible to ascertain if someone had been disciplined for the
kind of behaviour complained about. To date, the army had been forthcoming in
getting archive material that was needed, she said. "So whatever Justice
Morris thinks he needs to look for in the archives they will find and produce
as quickly as possible." |
