The Dominion Post
May 13, 2004
Limits on pack rape inquiry
The commission of
inquiry into allegations of a police pack rape has had some limits placed on
its ability to disclose evidence to the public.
MPs last night agreed to surprise changes to a proposed law retrospectively
scrapping the privacy of evidence to the Police Complaints Authority. The
Government wants the commission to see files covered by secrecy provisions so
it can get to the bottom of allegations of police misconduct.
ACT MP Stephen Franks told Parliament he was concerned a retrospective repeal
of confidential evidence laws would undermine the authority's work.
He put forward a clause that would require the authority not to disclose
information unless it had received some assurances from the commission.
The assurances would include the commission taking "all steps necessary or
desirable to protect" the confidential nature of information from the
authority.
The prohibitions could be waived by those who had given the original evidence
to authority.
Mr Franks said there would be a lot of media pressure on the commission for all
hearings and evidence to be public, and this could have the effect of
undermining the work of the authority.
People who spoke to the authority had done so on the understanding that their
identities were confidential. To undermine that would be unfair and would also
deter others giving evidence in the future, Mr Franks said.
Complete disclosure was not necessarily in the public interest or needed for
the commission to do its job properly.
"It [the changes] will assist the commission to withstand pressures for
unnecessary public disclosure. The commission should have an express duty to
minimise damage to the reputation of government from reneging o