Operation 8 question

Today's Questions in parliament. Number 8 - ironically:

8. HONE HARAWIRA to the Attorney-General:
What is the likely total cost of the “Urewera Four” case to the Crown, from the start of surveillance of suspects to the close of the trial on Tuesday, including all of the different government departments that were involved?

And maybe a supplimentary could be asked as to what possible cost any retrial might be.

Pity the main figures in this - the then Police Commissioner Howard Broad and the then Police Minister (Annette King?) and PM (Helen Clark) - aren't made to answer these questions. To a large extent the current National government have been left to pick up the pieces, wipe the egg off the face of the NZ Police and defend the action even though they had nought to do with "Operation 8".

The government was trapped by the NZ Police's own hype, the budget already expended and the institutional pressure building up to eek out a consolation dividend by pursuing the lesser charges to the very end.

I wonder what figure Finlayson will tell us? It must be in the millions if they include everything.