NZ judge ready to run UK child sex probe

Sky News
February 11, 2015

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/europe/2015/02/12/nz-judge-ready-to-run-uk-child-sex-probe.html

The New Zealand judge who's been drafted in to oversee Britain's inquiry into historical child sex abuse says her whole career has been building towards this moment.

Lowell Goddard was grilled by MPs during a pre-appointment hearing at Westminster on Wednesday (Thursday morning NZ time).

She was asked to head the inquiry - which will examine allegations including that politicians committed and covered up abuse - after two previous chairs were forced to resign over establishment links.

'My whole career path to date, and my experience I believe, has brought me to this point and I felt that I should make the commitment to undertake the inquiry for that reason,' Justice Goddard told the Home Affairs Committee.

'It's the biggest challenge I've faced yet.'

The 66-year-old, who's previously conducted an inquiry into the policing of child abuse in New Zealand, will stand down as a High Court judge and move to the UK for the duration of the inquiry.

She's also considering quitting her work with a United Nations subcommittee on the prevention of torture.

Justice Goddard expects the inquiry could run for 'three years (and) possibly into a fourth'.

'Given the breadth of the subject matter and the time span involved that does not seem inordinate,' she told committee members.

The senior lawyer said she'd consider setting milestones for interim reports.

If any establishment figure tried to obstruct her inquiry she'll 'proceed absolutely according to law'.

Justice Goddard was asked if she regarded herself as part of the establishment.

'We don't have such a thing in my country,' she replied.

'(But) do I have any links into any institution or any person relevant to the subject matter of the inquiry? No I don't.'

The judge hopes the inquiry - announced in mid-2014 - will be up and running by early April. It will be informed by survivors.

'They obviously are at the forefront and the centre of this inquiry so they will be a valuable resource,' Justice Goddard said, adding the inquiry would revisit past wrongs, clarify what happened, look at what's happening today and ensure 'as best as possible' children are protected in the future.

She said the best way to restore confidence in the inquiry after a series of false starts was to get on with the job 'because results speak for themselves'.

Justice Goddard doubts there's 'anything like the scale' of child abuse in New Zealand as had been exposed in the UK but noted 'New Zealand is not a perfect country and of course there are instances of child sexual abuse'.

The experienced jurist on Wednesday also dismissed allegations levelled against her in the blog kiwisfirst.com.

It suggests when Justice Goddard was deputy solicitor-general she helped cover up a judge's misconduct.

Justice Goddard said blogger Vincent Siemer had been imprisoned for contempt of court and deemed a vexatious litigant in 2014.

His claims had 'absolutely no substance', she said.

The Home Affairs Committee is expected to endorse Justice Goddard's appointment when it publishes its recommendations at midnight on Thursday (Friday afternoon NZ time).

'The eyes of the whole country are upon you,' chair Keith Vaz said on Wednesday.

'Expectations are extremely high and we wish you the best of luck in this very difficult task.'