Govt receives Tom Phillips inquiry, anticipates public release in coming weeks

News
Crime

Author: Julia Gabel,
Publish Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2026, 1:32pm

Fugitive Marokopa father Tom Phillips died in a shootout with police.

The results of an inquiry into the how public agencies responded to the disappearance of Marokopa man Tom Phillips, and his three children, have been delivered to the Government.

Attorney-General Chris Bishop told Newstalk ZB this morning he expected the report to be released publicly by mid-August.

The report first needed to be reviewed to determine whether any information needed to be redacted to “avoid affecting the administration of justice,” he said.

Phillips and his three young children disappeared from Marokopa in December 2021. After three years in the bush, Phillips was killed in a shootout with police in 2025. His children were recovered after his death.

In November last year, then Attorney General Judith Collins announced a public inquiry into the children’s disappearance.

At the time, she said the inquiry would consider “whether government agencies took all practicable steps to protect the safety and welfare of the Phillips children.”

Justice Simon Moore, KC, was appointed as the sole member of the inquiry. He was given a report-back date of today, July 21, 2026. The inquiry has kept to that date.

Collins said at the time the “decision to establish a public inquiry reflects the significant public interest and concern for the children’s welfare over the almost four years they were missing”.

“It is important that we establish the facts and determine whether agencies could take steps to prevent or resolve similar situations more quickly and effectively in the future,” she said at the time.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.