Minister Must Release Inquiry Into Child Killer

Monday 26 Aug 2002

ACT New Zealand Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today called on the Minister in charge of the Department of Child Youth and Family to release details of the inquiry into the department's handling of the case of Bailey Junior Kurariki, the boy convicted of the manslaughter of Michael Choy.

"The department has been involved with this boy since he was nine years old. He was in the department's care when the murder occurred. For the department to claim that an internal inquiry has exonerated them on the basis that he was 'such a major handful' is not only outrageous but also totally unacceptable.

"It is the role of the department to deal with difficult children. Their job is to keep the kids safe and to keep society safe. If they washed their hands of this young boy as they seem to be claiming then they have failed the boy, Michael Choy and society at large.

"In light of the fact that the department was responsible for the boy at the time of the murder and that police are claiming CYF's failure contributed to the murder of Michael Choy, it would appear impossible for a proper inquiry to exonerate the department.

"I am writing to the Minister to ask that he urgently release the details of the inquiry to the public so that people can judge for themselves whether there has been a departmental cover-up over this case", Dr Newman said.

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