David Bain has been given fresh hope in his fight for compensation after court wranglings came to an end.

The Government and Bain's lawyers have agreed to end judicial review proceedings over a report that suggested he was innocent of the murder of his family.

It means the decision to award him compensation for wrongful conviction and for the 13 years he spent behind bars will go back before Cabinet ministers.

Justice Minister Amy Adams announced the move this afternoon.

"This discontinuance does not resolve Mr Bain's underlying compensation claim, just the separate judicial review process," she said.

"I plan to discuss next steps with my Cabinet colleagues over the coming weeks.



"While the details of the agreement are confidential, I can confirm that there was no contribution made towards Mr Bain's compensation claim as part of this discontinuance."

Bain's bid for redress stalled in early 2013 after a row over a report commissioned by then justice minister Judith Collins.

Written by retired Canadian judge Justice Ian Binnie, it found that Bain was innocent of the murder of his parents, brother and two sisters "on the balance of probabilities".

Collins publicly questioned the findings and ordered a review by High Court judge Robert Fisher. Fisher pointed to errors in Binnie's findings.

Bain's legal team took the matter to the High Court and asked for a judicial review.

Bain was convicted of the Dunedin murders in 1995 but acquitted at a 2009 retrial.

He married teacher Liz Davies last year and they recently celebrated the birth of their first child.

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