New Delhi, Sept. 16 -- The public inquiry - which is a formal, independent investigation of matters of significant importance in New Zealand - was launched in November 2025 to scrutinize how government agencies handled the case. It was prompted by outrage about how a father involved in court proceedings was able to evade authorities for almost four years, while forcing his children to live in rugged, squalid conditions in remote countryside without access to health care or education.

Inquiry found officials dismissed the mother's fears

The inquiry's report, released Tuesday, said the harms caused by Phillips isolating his children were "underplayed, minimised or overlooked" for "significant periods" by the police and New Zealand's child...