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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Questions have been
raised about the suitability or rather sensitivities of the man chosen to
head the inquiry into allegations of cadet abuse at the army training school
in Waiouru, writes The Marlborough Express in an editorial. Former High Court judge
David Morris sparked controversy 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". Not surprisingly there
were calls then for his immediate resignation and both he and his comments
were branded by many as "disgraceful and offensive". Now his critics - past
and the present - are wondering if he has the appropriate qualities to handle
the sensitive cadet misconduct inquiry and ferret out the truth behind the
claims of widespread physical, psychological and sexual abuse at the Waiouru
Regular Force Cadet School. First raised last month by former army cadet Ian
Fraser, the allegations have yet to be proven to have any substance, although
a flood of emails and calls from former cadets at the camp from the 1960s to
the 1980s add support to his claims. The alleged abuse dates
back 20 to 40 years, and this will make it even harder to sort fact from
fiction. Over time memories will have become hazy and adding to the toughness
of the inquiry task is the reality that much of what is now considered
physical abuse would have been put down to hard discipline and to be expected
in the army in those days. Now a highly sensitive
issue, the alleged misconduct supposedly took place in the often harshly
regimented, closed-shop environment of the armed services so it will take
someone with a strong sense of justice and one who is not afraid to speak his
mind and follow his convictions to get to the bottom of the matter. Various
levels of discipline are part of army life and in seeking the truth political
correctness may not always be appropriate. Former judge Morris has
shown he is not afraid to take that path if he deems it necessary. In his day
he was an adept Crown prosecutor and for the most part uncontroversial High
Court judge and there is no reason to believe he will not apply the same
principles of fairness and justice to his current task. He has the
experience, having been involved with several previous inquiries including
the National Women's Hospital cervical cancer inquiry, investigations into
the Mr Asia drug ring, and the Erebus commission of inquiry. Any concerns now should
not be about who is heading this inquiry or their background, but instead
about how soon it can be completed and what it uncovers. |
