Govt ministers get insight into David Bain's comp bid
Justice minister explains the compensation process at today's cabinet meeting.
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Justice minister Judith Collins has updated her cabinet colleagues on David Bain’s application for compensation.
Cabinet ministers met in Wellington today for the first time this year.
Ms Collins says a decision on the next step has yet to be made.
“As Mr Bain’s application falls outside the cabinet guidelines, Mr Bain has no entitlement to compensation. Any decision regarding compensation is entirely at cabinet’s discretion.”
Last month Ms Collins released the report by ex-Canadian judge Ian Binnie, which concluded "it is more likely than not" that Mr Bain is "factually innocent”.
Justice Binnie also said Mr Bain should receive compensation for the wrongful 1995 conviction for the murders of his Dunedin family.
But that report was criticised by Ms Collins and Robert Fisher QC, who was hired to carry out a peer review into Justice Binnie’s report.
Mr Fisher said Justice Binnie went beyond his mandate.
“He did not have authority to express any conclusion on the question whether there were extraordinary circumstances such that compensation would be in the interests of justice," he wrote in his peer review.
"Nor was he invited to make any recommendation as to whether compensation should be paid. Those errors have been compounded by the publicity given to conclusions on matters which ought to have been for cabinet alone to decide.”
Ms Collins says when cabinet does make a decision on the compensation claim there will another announcement regarding the process and timeframe for consideration.
Blair Cunningham
Wed, 23 Jan 2013
Wed, 23 Jan 2013
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Govt ministers get insight into David Bain's comp bid
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