NZ Judge picked for top UK role

The Herald reports:

A New Zealand judge has been picked from 150 candidates, after a “robust” vetting process, to lead a mammoth inquiry into historic child sex abuse allegations in Britain, including an alleged political paedophile ring.

High Court Justice Lowell Goddard will chair the inquiry, which was announced in July last year by British Prime Minister David Cameron, following a string of scandals involving the abuse of children at hospitals and care homes as well as churches and schools.

Justice Goddard is based at the High Court in Wellington and told the BBC that coming from New Zealand was an advantage in that she came into the inquiry with no context or agenda “other than to work hard and get to the bottom of the allegations and to find answers”. She said the “robust” vetting process she was put through before being selected to lead the probe was “absolutely in order”.

Justice Goddard has been a NZ High Court Judge for 19 years, and is the former chair of the Independent Police Complaints Authority.

It’s nice to see a NZ Judge selected for what will be an incredibly challenging and high profile role in a much larger country.