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This page last updated June 2 2005
Links
to later Employment case documents
1996
1998
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1995-0221 - Letter - Appleyard
to Deaker (pdf 148 kB)
New
June 2 2005 (previously cover sheet
only)
Jo Appleyard, Buddle Findlay; Counsel
for Christchurch City Council
Michael Deaker - Manager National Operations, Ministry Education
We refer to your telephone conversation with the writer yesterday
morning…..We are concerned that the memorandum gives the impression that the
discussions with the Police Officers and the production of affidavits
occurred in the presence of Mr Gray and other city officials. Mr Gray's
recollection is that this is not correct…..You have explained to us..
1995-0221
- Letter - Deaker to Appleyard (pdf 41 kB)
Michael Deaker - Manager National
Operations, Ministry Education
Jo Appleyard, Buddle Findlay; Counsel for Christchurch City Council
I confirm without reservation your summary of our phone conversation
yesterday, especially paras 7 & 8
1995-0307 - Letter - Cooper to
Breakwell (pdf 37 kB)
Bede Cooper, Liasion Officer for Mgr
National Operations, Ministry Education
Jan Breakwell, Manager Legal Services Division, Ministry of Education
I have been asked by Buddle Findlay, wjho are acting on behalf of Christchurch
City Council, to appear before the Employment Court tomorrow morning. ……I
would be grateful if you would have a critical look at the brief of evidence,
prepared for me and advise accordingly.
1995-0307
- Bede Cooper - Brief of Evidence for Employment Court
Appleyard
version (pdf 251 kB)
McAteer version (pdf 288 kB)
Final version (pdf 207 kB)
Bede Cooper, Liasion Officer for
Mgr National Operations, Ministry Education
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Bede Cooper's Brief of Evidence
by Lynley Hood
extract from
"A City Possessed: The
Christchurch Civic Crèche case"
Longacre Press, 2001, pages 567-568
On 6 March 1995, Tom Weston's
assistant Jo Appleyard met with Bede Cooper. 'I told him that the purpose
of his evidence would be to corroborate John Gray's evidence as it related
to the meetings on 2 September 1992 and 3 September 1992,' she reported.
Later that day, Cooper suggested some minor changes to the draft brief
prepared by Appleyard, and asked her to fax him the final version before he
left for the West Coast next morning.
In the morning, Cooper faxed
Appleyard's final version to Ministry of Education solicitor Jan Breakwell
and asked her to take a critical look at it. Because she was not a court
lawyer, Breakwell sought advice from Crown Counsel Neil McAteer. That
afternoon, Breakwell and McAteer tracked down Cooper on the West Coast, and
went through the brief of evidence with him by phone. That evening, they
faxed an amended version of Cooper's brief to Tom Weston and Jo Appleyard.
The amendments were few, but
significant.
Paragraph 10 of the 'Appleyard
version' of Cooper's brief stated: 'As a result of my briefing with the
Police and the Department of Social Welfare [on 1 September] I reached the
view that the Christchurch Civic Creche's licence had to be suspended
immediately (at the very least) and most likely cancelled.'
The same paragraph of the
'McAteer version' stated: 'As a result of my briefing with the Police and
the Department of Social Welfare and after reading the affidavits and
letters I reached the view that this would be an appropriate case in which
to suspend the Christchurch Civic Creche's licence immediately. However,
this was not my decision to make as I did not hold the delegated authority.
The delegated authority was held by Michael Deaker, National Operations,
South Island.'
The 'McAteer version' also noted
that Mr Deaker was not prepared to suspend the creche licence until he had
sighted the police evidence, which he had done in Mr Gray's office on 3
September.
'They [the Ministry of
Education] had taken out all the references to cancellation and given the
impression that they went to the meeting with John Gray to consult with him
and that they did not have the predetermined idea that cancellation would
take place,' Jo Appleyard noted indignantly.
After considering the 'McAteer
version' of Bede Cooper's brief of evidence, Tom Weston decided not to call
Cooper as a witness in the Employment Court. 'I
formed the view that if he gave evidence he might perjure himself Weston
told me. He assured me that the fact that Cooper's evidence had
suddenly become unhelpful to the council case had nothing to do with his
decision. 'That didn't really enter my mind,' he said.
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1995-0300 - Statement - Michael Deaker
(pdf 104 kB)
New 2
June 2005 (2nd page added)
Michael Deaker - Manager National
Operations, Ministry Education
On 1 and 2 September 1992 I had briefings by telephone
from Bede Cooper and Grace Todd…….At these briefings, Bede reported to me,
the information from the police included reference to their view that five
other staff might be charged, there were substantial allegations of child
abuse and of generally poor supervision. The police had implored the Ministry
to suspend the centre's licence
Michael Deaker:
Suspended licence of the creche based on skim
reading affidavits from complainant parents
1995-0310 - Letter -
Weston/Appleyard to Wright (pdf 87 kB)
Tom Weston, Jo Appleyard; Buddle
Findlay; Counsel for Christchurch City Council
Marshall Wright, Christchurch City Council
You have asked that I provide a short report setting out my impressions of
the hearing. The hearing lasted eight days, concluding on Wednesday 8 March.
The Applicants called some 16 witnesses and we relied upon the evidence of
four witnesses: Messrs Gray, Mitchell, Maguire and yourself. We endeavoured to call Mr Cooper of the Ministry
of Education but as you know, that proved to be a fiasco when Crown Law
required him to alter the evidence we had settled with him. I propose dealing
with that matter in a separate letter to you.
1995-0311 - File Note - Jo
Appleyard (pdf 216 kB)
New
June 2 2005
Jo Appleyard, Buddle
Findlay; Counsel for Christchurch City Council
I met with Bede Cooper in his office on Monday 6 March 1995 at 10:30am. I
told him that the purpose of his evidence would be to corroborate John Gray's
evidence as it relates to the meetings on 2 September 1992 and 3 September
1992. I took some notes of my conversations
with Bede Cooper which are attached. Bede Cooper made the following
statements to me….
I have since spoken to Bede. He was fairly in the middle saying he was happy
with some of the changes made by McAteer but not others. He did not elaborate
on the particular changes.
1995-0321 - Letter - Weston to
Richardson (pdf 131 kB)
Tom Weston, Buddle Findlay; Counsel
for Christchurch City Council
Mike Richardson, City Manager, Christchurch City Council
You have asked for a short report for distribution to Councillors in
confidence. As I understand it, it is intended that this report be circulated
together with the decision of the Employment Court dated 16 March 1995
1995-0321 - Letter -
Richardson to Mayor & Councillors (pdf 876
kB)
including
the Interim Judgment from Justice Goddard
(Report dated
March 20, but includes correspondence dated March 21)
Mike Richardson, City Manager, Christchurch
City Council
Further to my memorandum of 20 March, attached please find
(1) Buddle Findlay's (Tom Weston's)
report on the Interim Judgment
(2) together with the Interim Judgment
1995-0516 - Letter -
Weston to Mitchell (pdf 375 kB)
Tom Weston, Buddle Findlay; Counsel
for Christchurch City Council
Peter Mitchell, Office Solicitor, Christchurch City Council
You have asked us to report to you regarding possible causes of action against
the Police and/or the Ministry of Education arising from representations made
concerning former employees of the Civic Childcare Centre
1995-0609 - Letter -
Weston to McGrath (pdf 88 kB)
New
June 2 2005
Tom Weston, Buddle Findlay;
Counsel for Christchurch City Council
John McGrath, Solicitor General, Crown Law Office
Overall, and bearing in mind the decision of the Employment Court, the City
Council feels considerably aggrieved about the Ministry's actions. The
impression that we gained at the time, and nothing since then has altered it,
was that the Ministry was trying to protect itself from any assertion that it
had predetermined the issue. But, and as is reflected in Ms Appleyard's
memorandum, Mr Cooper's original evidence was effectively that it had done
so.
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Peterellis.org
Who was lying to
who? …You be the judge.
Who was wriggling? - The Ministry of Education or Christchurch City Council
honchos?
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Links
to previous Employment case documents
1992
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