Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Govt agrees to delay Bain's compensation application

Updated at 9:16 pm on 4 February 2013

The Government has agreed to delay its consideration of David Bain's bid for compensation over his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

Last week Mr Bain sought a judicial review relating to the way Justice Minister Judith Collins has handled his compensation application, claiming a breach of natural justice.

Ms Collins had been preparing a paper for Cabinet with a range of options, including establishing a panel to review the Bain case.

But she says following a formal request from Mr Bain, Cabinet has agreed to delay any further consideration of his application.

She says he is not automatically entitled to any compensation as his application falls outside Cabinet guidelines, so any decision is entirely at the discretion of Cabinet.

Prime Minister John Key says Cabinet agreed to the delay because Mr Bain made a formal request for it.

"There's no particular reason why we wouldn't agree to that ... It's his application. In the end whether he's granted compensation or not is a matter solely for the Cabinet and so in the end if he decides he wishes to slow the process down with a potential judicial review then so be it."

Mr Bain spent 13 years in prison for murdering five members of his family before being found not guilty in a retrial in 2009.

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