Mr Pora, who spent 21 years in prison, was yesterday awarded $2,520,949.42 compensation and received a government apology for being wrongfully convicted of rape and murder.
"We won't get closure on this case until someone's serving time for Susan Burdett's murder,'' Labour's justice spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern said yesterday.
• Editorial: Teina Pora: what price justice?
An independent review by former High Court judge Rodney Hansen, released yesterday, concluded Mr Pora was "innocent on the balance of probabilities'' of the rape and murder of Ms Burdett in her Papatoetoe home in 1992.
The review also found the evidence in the case led to the "irresistible inference'' serial rapist Malcolm Rewa acted alone in the killing.
Rewa has been convicted of Ms Burdett's rape but not her murder, and is due for parole in 2018.
Ms Ardern said Rewa should now be reinvestigated.
"It's not enough to say Malcolm Rewa's already in prison. That's not a proxy for a murder conviction.''
Justice Minister Amy Adams said yesterday that Mr Hansen's conclusions did not amount to legal findings.
"He was specifically asked only to consider Mr Pora's involvement. But nothing in his report is a finding in respect to the culpability of Mr Rewa.''
It was up to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether Rewa could face further investigation, Ms Adams said.
Mr Hansen QC said he could have found Mr Pora innocent on a higher standard than on the balance of probabilities, the test to trigger a government payment for a wrongful conviction.
Mr Hansen was appointed last year to review the case after the Privy Council quashed Mr Pora's convictions and directed he not be tried again for the 1992 crimes.
Mr Hansen concluded Rewa acted alone and was solely responsible for the crimes.
"There is no credible evidence to show that he was accompanied by Mr Pora.''
Rewa was convicted of sex attacks on 25 women including the rape of Ms Burdett. But two juries could not agree whether he murdered her. After the second hung jury, the solicitor-general stayed a third prosecution. Rewa will be eligible for parole in 2018.
Mr Hansen was critical of aspects of the Crown case and police procedure and of the meddling by some of Mr Pora's extended family.
The case against Mr Pora relied upon his confession which the Crown said broadly conformed to the forensic evidence, showed knowledge indicating he was likely present and was supported by the evidence of other witnesses.
"That is not the view I take,'' Mr Hansen said.
Pora's confession was "a transparent concoction'' which "against the odds'' persuaded police he was present.
Mr Pora had not divulged anything he could only have known by being there and made mistakes in his interview he would not have made had he been present, Mr Hansen said.
Mr Pora did not name Rewa - even when to do so would have probably resulted in his early release from prison - "because he did not know who he was''.
"He did not know who the rapist was because he was not present when Ms Burdett was raped and murdered.''
Yesterday, Ms Adams read out her apology letter to Mr Pora at his request. She accepted some people felt the payout to Mr Pora should have been higher, saying there were "a range of views'' on the final figure.
The minister said she was open to reviewing Cabinet guidelines for awarding compensation.
"That's a decision we can certainly have. But the reality is that that would never have affected Mr Pora's application because his application will be dealt with on the guidelines at the time.''
Mr Hansen's report showed that $1.9 million of the compensation was for loss of liberty, $225,000 was for non-pecuniary losses, and $334,000 was for loss of livelihood, potential earnings and legal fees.
Teina Pora's lawyers said they had hoped he would be offered more than $2.5 million.
Jonathan Krebs and Ingrid Squire said in Auckland they had asked for up to $8 million in compensation.
- By Isaac Davison and Phil Tayor
