NZ Herald
May 28 2004

Inquiry into police rape allegations delayed
NZPA

The head of a commission of inquiry into police conduct confirmed today there will be no evidential hearings next month.

The commission was established after Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas alleged in January she was packraped and violated with a police baton by three police officers in 1986, when she was 18.

The commission is to look at evidence relating to Ms Nicholas' and other similar cases and has indicated women will get a chance to tell their stories if they wish.

However, commission head Justice Robertson said today that evidential hearings planned for June would no longer go ahead.

"It will be necessary to allow sufficient time for people, whose acts or omissions are complained of, to have the opportunity to respond and to have their responses assessed for evidential value," he said in a statement.

"We repeat that we are convinced that the interests of justice and equity require that we should not embark on any public hearing with regard to any alleged incident unless we can hear all versions and facets of it."

Funding problems for some of those wishing to appear before the commission were also a potential cause for delay, he said.

The commission had no budgetary allocation to assist with this.

However, Justice Robertson said he and fellow commissioner Dame Margaret Bazley would still try and meet their November 1 reporting deadline unless delays were "absolutely unavoidable".

The pair would meet again with lawyers for all parties involved in the commission on June 16 to see if it was possible to set down any new hearing dates.

He also directed that the identity of those giving evidence before the commission be kept confidential before their appearance unless they "unequivocally waive that right themselves".

That would give people the chance to apply to have their identities or parts of their evidence suppressed by the commission, he said.

The measure was necessary to protect police staff who had given confidential evidence to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) under the understanding their identity would be kept secret.

This month Parliament rushed through a law allowing the commission access to PCA files for the purpose of its investigation.

- NZPA