Monks in sex case fight extradition from Australia

Differences in the Australian and New Zealand justice systems could prevent two Catholic clergymen from receiving a fair trial, their lawyer said in a Sydney court yesterday.

The pair, aged 70 and 59 and members of the St John of God Order, were ordered to be extradited to New Zealand by a magistrate in February.

But they have fought the order, applying for a rehearing in the Federal Court that started yesterday.

They face a total of 32 sexual assault charges relating to their time at Marylands School in Christchurch in the 1960s and 1970s.

Defence counsel Paul Byrne told Justice Rodney Madgwick that in New Zealand an accused person could face several complainants in the one trial, but that was not usually possible in New South Wales.