KEY POINTS:
David Bain is enjoying his freedom chatting to locals in Te Kauwhata and strolling the streets of Huntly - and says he has not encountered any negative feedback since he left prison.
"These little townships are fantastic. The weather is so warm up here. I'm just enjoying meeting people, walking into shops and having choices like different drinks or hamburgers to choose from."
Yesterday it emerged that even if there were no retrial or he were acquitted, Bain could face a long wait before his name is cleared in the eyes of the law. No inquest has yet been held into the 1994 deaths of Robin Bain, Margaret Cullen-Bain, Arawa Bain, Laniet Bain and Stephen Bain, but Dunedin coroner Jim Conradson said this week that this would "almost certainly" be required if David Bain were not retried and the charges of murder against him were dropped or there were a retrial and Bain was acquitted.
Mr Conradson was Dunedin coroner when Bain was found guilty of the murders by a High Court jury in Dunedin in 1995. At the time, he decided he did not need to conduct a formal inquest because he was satisfied the evidence presented in court had established the cause and circumstances of the deaths.
However, if the charges were dropped or Bain were acquitted after this month's Privy Council decision to quash his convictions and order a retrial, an inquest would almost certainly be required because in the case of a violent death, a coroner must determine the circumstances and consider if the death appeared to be due to the actions or inactions of any person.
