Hit & Run inquiry stuck in stalemate
The Government’s investigation is in disarray with key players locked in a stand-off with inquiry chiefs over secret witnesses.
Earlier in March, Stuff reported the book’s author Nicky Hager and lawyer Deborah Manning were losing faith in the Operation Burnham inquiry.
Manning, who is acting on behalf of Afghan civilians caught up in the 2010
SAS raids, subsequently launched legal action, calling for a judicial review of the investigation.
Tensions have continued to grow, with inquiry chairmen Sir Terence Arnold and Sir Geoffrey Palmer blasting Hager and Manning in a written memo for holding back the contact details of their sources.
Hager has said the inquiry was heavy-handed and discouraged his main sources from coming forward.
But Arnold and Palmer say Hager wanted his sources to have access, and be able to respond to, all New Zealand Defence Force documentation – and they found this ‘‘problematic’’. It would be ‘‘disappointing’’ if the sources didn’t participate, Arnold and Palmer said.
But in a sharp aside, they noted: ‘‘Most of the sources who contributed to are [co-author Jon] Stephenson’s, not Mr Hager’s.
‘‘Indeed, as we understand it, independently of Mr Stephenson, Mr Hager had only one or two sources ... furthermore, what Mr Hager learned from his source is no doubt reflected not only in Run, but also in at least some of the substantive submission and letters he provided to the inquiry.’’
But Hager disputes this and told
Stuff: ‘‘What they have written is factually incorrect. I don’t know why they have done this.’’
In the memo, Arnold and Palmer also took aim at the lawyers acting for the villagers of Khak Khuday Dad and Naik. The inquiry previously ruled their names be kept secret. The chairmen say the lawyers haven’t provided contact details for three Afghan nationals who have been deemed ‘‘core participants’’. And, there is confusion about how many were killed or hurt – with 21 and 22 names provided to the inquiry – and discrepancies in their names.
The lawyers argue it is difficult to contact the villagers, who live in remote places and frequently change phone numbers. They want the inquiry to go through a New Zealand-based interpreter – but Arnold and Palmer want to deal directly with the villagers.
Hager and Manning both criticised a public hearing, to be held next month, as being weighted in favour of the Defence Force.
In response to the concerns, Arnold and Palmer have made some minor changes. The memo also reveals the inquiry will deliver some preliminary findings in October but has yet to decide if that will be heard behind closed doors.
The book, claimed six villagers were killed and 15 others injured in SAS raids held in retaliation for the death of a New Zealand soldier. The NZDF has disputed the claims.