He found that the Government was not to blame for the original occupation and that the decision to refrain from eviction had been reasonable in the circumstances. He nevertheless found that officials were unable to make a decision to bring the situation under control, that Ministers were not brought into consultation at an early enough stage and that it took too long for an agreement to be reached on the decision to be taken. Clothier was therefore able to attribute part of the losses incurred by the farmers to maladministration and considered it appropriate for the departments concerned to offer ex gratia compensation.
He concluded that government responsibility for the initial occupation was not the primary cause, but rather the decision to avoid eviction was reasonable in light of the circumstances. However, he found that officials were unable to take effective control, and it took too long to reach an agreement on the action to be taken, leading him to attribute part of the losses to poor administration.