Granting David Bain millions of dollars in compensation would
be a "difficult sell" for the Government, a University of
Canterbury law professor says.
The Government has ordered a second opinion on the case, this
time from New Zealand's foremost specialist, Robert Fisher
QC, after a retired Canadian judge concluded Mr Bain was
innocent and should be compensated.
Chris Gallavin from the University of Canterbury's law school
told Radio New Zealand today (Tue) that compensation was a
difficult issue for the Government, given the polarising
nature of the case.
"For many people the thought of David Bain getting
compensation - for something that rightly or wrongly many
people in New Zealand believe that he may have got away with
murder - is going to be quite a difficult sell I think for
the Government.
"We're going to have every amateur sleuth and investigator in
the country poring over the report to see if they can chink
some of the armour."
Dr Gallavin said the guidelines for how much compensation
should be granted gave a starting point of $100,000 per year
of incarceration.
"Thirteen years in prison at a straight $100,000 a year is
$1.3 million and it's quite conceivable that he'd get quite a
considerable sum in addition to that."
Last night, Mr Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed, QC, said it was
"appalling" for the present minister, Judith Collins, to seek
more advice and delay the compensation deal until at least
early next year.
"By convention, you should accept it [the advice]. Why send
it to a more junior person to review the top judge in the
Commonwealth, who is independent? It's ridiculous."
In September, the NZ Herald revealed that Justice Binnie had
delivered a confidential report to the Government concluding
that on the balance of probabilities, Mr Bain was innocent of
the 1994 murder of his parents, brother and two sisters and
should be compensated for time in jail.
Former All Black Joe Karam campaigned for Mr Bain, including
taking a case to the Privy Council, which quashed his
convictions in 2007 and ordered a retrial. Mr Bain was
acquitted after a retrial in 2009.
Government seeks second opinion
The Government has ordered a second opinion on the David Bain
compensation case, this time from New Zealand's foremost
specialist, Robert Fisher QC, after a retired Canadian judge
concluded Mr Bain was innocent and should be compensated.
Mr Fisher, a former High Court judge, has advised the
Government on compensation claims, including from Rex Haig
after his murder conviction was quashed.
In that case, Mr Fisher found it was more probable than not
that Mr Haig had participated in the murder.
He recommended that compensation be declined and the
Government accepted his recommendation.
Simon Power, when Justice Minister, commissioned advice on
the Bain case from Ian Binnie, a retired Canadian Supreme
Court judge, because it was so controversial in NZ.
Last night, Mr Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed, QC, said it was
"appalling" for the present minister, Judith Collins, to seek
more advice and delay the compensation deal to at least early
next year.
"By convention, you should accept it [the advice]. Why send
it to a more junior person to review the top judge in the
Commonwealth, who is independent? It's ridiculous."
Ms Collins had said in September that the report would be
released in two months.
"Now she's changed her mind, and she's hiding something," Mr
Reed said.
"The judge was asked one question: 'Is David Bain innocent?'
He has found him innocent. Isn't it a fair go to let him get
on with his life, give him some money and let him go away?
He's not looking for a fortune, he's been fair and
reasonable, but no one else has been reasonable."
The QC said his client had no money and was desperate to get
his life back in order after 13 years in jail.
"He doesn't do very well. Poor guy, he lost all that life of
his, and lost 13 years - no wine, no restaurants, no travel,
no sex, no girlfriends. It's pretty nasty, isn't it?"
In September, the Herald revealed that Justice Binnie had
delivered a confidential report to the Government concluding
that on the balance of probabilities, Mr Bain was innocent of
the 1994 murder of his parents, brother and two sisters and
should be compensated for time in jail.
Former All Black Joe Karam campaigned for Mr Bain, including
taking a case to the Privy Council, which quashed his
convictions in 2007 and ordered a retrial. Mr Bain was
acquitted after a retrial in 2009.
The Cabinet has no obligation to follow the compo
recommendation. But if it does, the payout could be at least
$2m, based on previous cases.
Yesterday, Prime Minister John Key refused to discuss whether
members of the Cabinet believed Mr Bain was guilty or
innocent and whether their opinions would have a bearing on
its final decision on compensation.
Sir Bob Jones, a close friend of Mr Karam, said Ms Collins
had "behaved badly" in seeking another QC's advice on the
compensation claim.
"They got the top judicial figure, a senior judge from Canada
came over, spent months going over it, spent a day grilling
David Bain, then she says, 'I don't like what he's come up
with'."
He believed she was acting on personal beliefs and was
"abrogating" her job. "That's a disgrace."
- Isaac Davison
