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Forum proposes NZ Truth Commission

Sunday 24 June 2012, 12:23AM

By New Zealand Justice Forum

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Patrick O'Brien
Patrick O'Brien Credit: PJO photo Wordpress- Bio-NZ Herald

The New Zealand Justice Forum is proposing that the government set up a Truth Commission in the wake of Patrick O'Briens revelations that as a former undercover policeman he was responsible for numerous acts of perjury that led to convictions of people whose trust he'd gained.

A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government  in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past.One of the difficult issues that arises over the role of truth commissions has centered around what should be the relationship between truth commissions and criminal prosecutions, however the New Zealand Justice Forum advocates a model that is more concerned with restorative justice rather than focusing on punishing the perpetrators of injustice.

New Zealand deserves the truth, new generations of Kiwi's deserve the truth, and those whose whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the corruption within the justice system and  the police deseve the truth. A petition is currently being circulated amongst members asking Parliament to put this matter on the agenda of the law reform select committee.

It is not necessary to bury the truth. It is sufficient merely
to delay it until nobody cares.” ~
Napoléon Bonaparte