Grant Fletcher: military lawyer explains why the SAS can't be sent in to track down Tom Phillips and children in Marokopa

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

It's been suggested that the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) could be the ones to find Tom Phillips and his three children in Marokopa - but one expert has voiced disapproval about the optics.

The four were recently filmed walking through the bush by pig hunters - the first sighting of them together since December 2021.

Barrister and military lawyer Grant Fletcher says within the Commonwealth legal system, there are tight restrictions on when armed forces can be used to help the Government internally.

"Obviously, there is a slightly murky area between what is a public service and what is a law enforcement role - and I think what's going to affect the decision makers in relation to this is that this is really stepping into a law enforcement role. Which is not the job of the military."

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