Of Judges and Kingmakers
Of Judges and Kingmakers. My comment on Karl du Fresne’s
blog was that Judge Callinicos might soon find himself working elsewhere in the
judicial system. The reason for my suggestion was that I was reminded of a tag
line used by an old friend of years ago. We were discussing the fate of a well-known
business leader of the time who did not make it through to any of the lucrative
director’s positions. My friend’s information was that prior to retirement the
business leader had “annoyed the kingmakers”.
Could the same be said of Judge Callinicos? The next
question is of course who are the kingmakers hiding behind the curtains in the
Callinicos affair? His judicial superiors maybe? The Maori tribal establishment
– which probably has tentacles into Oranga Tamariki?
Sir Wira Gardiner was acting CEO of Oranga Tamariki at the
time the “Moana” case commenced, and up to the time the Callinicos judgement
was completed (dated 9th Sept 2021). Wira Gardiner has since gone on
sick leave. I am not questioning his bona fides in that regard but, all the
same, questions must be asked of where he stood on the issue at the time, and
where other ranking Oranga Tamariki staff stood.
Back to Callinicos’ judicial superiors. The emerging
evidence is clear enough that his immediate superiors (Heads of Bench) were “in
the loop”, courtesy of Oranga Tamariki, during or immediately following the
“Moana” trial. It might seem that now the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and the
Heads of Bench have managed to push the issue off their plates and further up
the table to the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice and her deputy. Is it a food
fight or a dog fight? I have no idea.
As a food fight Callinicos is the meat in the sandwich. As a
dog fight he is the target of the attack. Either way things do not look good
for him. Lots of questions now. While his judgement seems to be sound and
watertight the “system” will look elsewhere for any opportunity to show him the
door. Kingmakers whoever they are do not like losing.
We need to look long and hard at Oranga Tamariki. Again. The
organisation managed to push a long serving CEO out early this year. Sir Wira
Gardiner was brought in as acting CEO tasked with reorganising the service.
Possibly his health condition did not allow him to turn the ship around in
time. If that was so it may signal a sad end to his career. We wish him well. Was
this latest Callinicos judgement a sign of an angry judge who had heard too much
dodgy evidence in Family Court cases, and decided to make an example of the
casual attitudes of some witnesses?
What would I rather see? Something akin to a Royal
Commission is required followed by some hard questioning of Maori culture and
childcare methods. An inquiry would also ask hard questions of our judicial
monitoring systems. But, don’t hold your breath. The New Zealand “system”
dislikes inquiries. Remenber how the kingmakers in the aftermath of the Erebus
Royal Commission dealt so badly to Judge Peter Mahon.
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