Teina Pora’s compensation case has brought up a lot of questions in Parliament.
Mr Pora has been awarded over $2.5 million, after his wrongful conviction for rape and murder, a figure Labour leader Andrew Little thinks is inadequate.
“Given what this chap has been through, that he now has to start his life very late in life, it should be higher," Mr Little said.
United Future leader Peter Dunne is concerned at a lack of accountability within the police and prosecutors, whose mistakes have led to the payout."There needs to be greater accountability. I think that the people who were responsible need to be reconsidered, if you like, and if they're still serving then that should be taken against them."
But ACT leader David Seymour is against punitive steps being taken."We have to accept that none of our public servants are perfect. Should there be consequences for them, I think in this case that would be unfair and would stop them from doing their job."
Prime Minister John Key said the police usually do a sterling job and so do the courts, who twice convicted Mr Pora of the offences."I think for the most part they get it right, and certainly the court system, for the most part, gets it right, so I don't think on an isolated case you want to read too much into things, but I think there are certainly some people who believe they might not have done their job as well as they might have."
SEE ALSO: Pora confirmed to get $2.5 million in compensation
The report from retired High Court Jude Rodney Hansen concluded that convicted rapist Malcolm Rewa acted alone and was solely responsible for the crimes.
Justice Minister Amy Adams said Malcolm Rewa's involvement had to be considered as part of Pora's case, but that's as far as it goes."Nothing in his report is a finding in respect of the culpability of Mr Rewa. Any decision in respect of any other party is one for the Crown Prosecution Service and not one I can comment on."
Labour MP Jacinda Ardern said police should now take a fresh case against Rewa."It's not enough to say they're already in prison serving time for another crime. That is not a proxy and that serves no justice for Susan Burdett's family."
Ms Ardern said we now have a very different set of circumstances.
SEE ALSO: Rachel Smalley: How do you compensate for 21 years of wrongful imprisonment?
Amy Adams said she's confident there's been meaningful change to stop that type of wrongful conviction happening again."The system knows a lot more now about how to deal with people like Mr Pora who are clearly deeply affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. That wasn't the case at the time he was investigated, at the time he was prosecuted, at the time of his two trials."
But Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell said if you put a person away for 20 years and find in the end they weren't party to the crime, there's something not right there."They should be taking every opportunity to look back over what they did and learn from those experiences, albeit at the expense of one person."
LISTEN: Amy Adams speaks with Larry Williams about Teina Pora's compensation
David Seymour now wants to know where the review of the David Bain case is up to."That's been something that's been put on the back burner for a very long time by this government. I think it's time they actually came out and told us what their decision is on David Bain."
Peter Dunne said he'd like to see the Bain case brought to a conclusion, but also that all individuals involved be treated fairly."I wouldn't want to see the Bain case simply rushed because the Pora case has been resolved but there is a reasonable period I think to expect a case to be resolved within."
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