When it comes to criminal case cause celebres, Peter Ellis appears to be the poor cousin when compared to the likes of David Bain, David Dougherty, and Teina Pora. The latest attempt, brought by author Lynley Hood and former politician Don Brash, for there to be a Commission of Inquiry into his 1993 child abuse convictions has again been knocked back by the Government. Ellis is once again left waiting in the wings.

It'd have to be said that this result is not new territory for Ellis and his supporters. Former Justice Minister Simon Power turned down a similar request in 2008, and other requests for a Royal Commission of Inquiry have been denied, a ministerial inquiry and Court of Appeal decisions have all gone against him. In fact, the only positive result Ellis has had was the 1999 Thorp report that found there was doubt about the safety of his convictions.

But since then it's been one set-back after another for Ellis and even the high profile help of former MPs Don Brash and Katherine Rich, along with author Lynley Hood has only brought him bursts of publicity, but no material gains.

The Government's position on a an inquiry is very much that Ellis still has legal avenues to exhaust; those being another application for the royal prerogative of mercy, and an appeal to the Privy Council. He's tried and had limited success with the first, but has never tried the latter. This begs the question; why not? Well, it's been over a decade since I last actively reported on the Ellis case and spoken with him.

But what I do recall from those interactions is that Ellis was a man of limited means. Privy Council cases are very expensive and I suspect, that if legal aid isn’t forthcoming, then a lack of money may very well be a factor in why that legal avenue hasn't been pursued. However that's a question only Peter Ellis can answer for sure. But if it is money, is it fair that a person's avenue to justice be blocked in this way?

And it's not that it seems that Ellis has a bad case compared to others who have had their convictions overturned. His current situation is a basket case of questionable decisions, sub-standard practices, and even questionable ethics So it is little wonder many hold grave doubts, not only about the integrity of his original trial, but also about the handling of subsequent inquiries into his convictions.

However there's one thing about the Ellis case that is often overlooked, and it's something that shouldn't be. I'm talking about the children who were at the Civic Crèche and on whose evidence Ellis was convicted. Nearly a third of Ellis' life has been consumed by this case, but for the children, who're now adults, it's been almost the totality of theirs.

Can you imagine what it must be like to go through life with all of the elements of this case hanging over your head, knowing you're the centre of one of the country's most controversial and divisive criminal cases? For those of us on the sidelines we can only guess what a burden this must be, but commonsense suggests it's probably pretty substantial.

Let us not forget this when considering Peter Ellis and the Civic Crèche case.