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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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A long-delayed inquiry
into allegations of abuse at the army's former cadet school in Waiouru has
been further held up by legal checks. Defence Minister Phil
Goff today said legal steps -- such as seeking consent of people named in the
report, authorisation to disclose an earlier inquiry's findings, and showing
it to people criticised in the report -- had to be taken before former High
Court judge David Morris' report could be released. The inquiry was sparked
last October when former army sergeant Ian Fraser, himself a former cadet,
published an article reporting widespread physical, psychological and sexual
abuse of cadets as young as 15 at the school in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Justice Morris' inquiry
began in November last year and was to have been completed by the end of
March but was held up when he suffered a heart problem. Mr Goff said the
"lengthy" and "thorough" report was received on October 6
and was referred to Crown Law. "The legal advice
suggested I should take a number of steps prior to the release but I will be
releasing the report as soon as I have followed those steps," Mr Goff
told National Radio. Judge Morris was asked
to look into the behaviour and treatment of cadets at the school from 1948
until it closed in 1991 as well as events surrounding the killing of cadet
Grant Bain who was shot in the barracks by another cadet in 1981. Mr Goff said the judge
had kept in contact with the Bain family. "I can certainly
understand their frustration -- they have lived for more than 22 years with
the frustration of believing that the way in which the death of their brother
and son was dealt with was inadequate -- and they're anxious of course now to
see those events exposed in the public and to get the report findings
formally." Mr Goff would not
indicate report findings. He said all former cadets were given an opportunity
to air their grievances. Mr Fraser had claimed
that about a third of all cadets suffered abuse at the school and his aim was
to gain recognition and possible compensation for those suffering continuing
problems from their abuse. He previously said it
had long been recognised that soldiers could have problems as a result of
traumatic military experiences. But it was harder for
army authorities to accept that trauma and other psychological damage could
result from the army's own culture of violence. His story prompted
about 300 former cadets to report their experiences at Waiouru. Grant Bain's brother
Murray said he felt the judge had carried out an impartial inquiry. "We're quietly
confident... we'll wait and see," he told National Radio. The Bains'
mother had died and their father was ill. "He's pretty keen to see
it." Mr Bain said he
accepted Mr Goff's reasons for the delay and the family would get a copy of
the report before it was publicly released. |
