Pora going to court over compo
"Adjusting for inflation would make a substantial difference." Tim McKinnel, private investigator
Teina Pora will go to court over the Government’s decision not to inflation-adjust his compensation package.
Pora was awarded more than $2.5 million in compensation by the Government in June after spending 21 years in prison for the 1992 murder of Susan Burdett – a crime he did not commit.
Private investigator Tim McKinnel, who led Pora’s innocence bid, said one of the options left open when the compensation was accepted was ‘‘whether or not he could have the decision not to apply inflation reviewed by the courts’’.
‘‘His instructions very recently are that he wants to take that step,’’ McKinnel said.
‘‘We hoped that once his evidence was unequivocally established that he would be afforded every reasonable consideration. That hasn’t happened.’’
‘‘Teina is used to disappointment ... he doesn’t complain a great deal and he knows the money he was given was a lot of money and he’s not bitter about it,’’ McKinnel said.
Pora’s legal team is in the process of preparing the papers necessary for the High Court for a judicial review.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Key says any new Government policy to allow inflationadjusted compensation for those wrongly convicted would be made separate from Pora’s case.
This comes on the back of Cabinet papers showing Justice Minister Amy Adams rejected advice that Pora’s compensation package be adjusted for inflation.
Justice Rodney Hansen, who provided advice on an appropriate amount of compensation for Pora, recommended Cabinet take into account inflation over the 20 years he was incarcerated, which would have increased the figure.
But the prime minister says it was the collective responsibility of Cabinet that made the decision not to inflation-proof Pora’s payout and Adams ‘‘rationale’’ wasn’t specific to Pora’s case.
‘‘Cabinet’s view is if we’re going to change to inflation-proofing then we think we should do that for any person who gets compensation, so it’s something we’d rather consider as a stand-alone policy rather than as a result of a particular compensation payment we’re making,’’ Key said.
Documents released under the Official Information Act show Adams rejected advice that the sum be adjusted for inflation.
But McKinnel says a ‘‘rationale approach’’ would have been to follow Hansen’s recommendation.
‘‘Instead they’ve taken selectively their advice and now they’re arguing that they couldn’t have rewarded an inflationadjusted amount because of the guidelines and I don’t accept that.’’
‘‘Adjusting for inflation would make a substantial difference.’’
Adams said inflation indexing wasn’t provided for when guidelines were put in place in 2000.
She also said the current compensation rate was ‘‘relatively generous’’ compared to other jurisdictions.
McKinnel says Pora should have received compensation closer to $8 million, which he is entitled to as the ‘‘victim of probably the most severe miscarriage of justice New Zealand has seen’’.