WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The disappearance of a New Zealand father with his children in a forest for several years before he was discovered and shot dead by the police has prompted the government to launch a major inquiry into how officials handled the case.

The public inquiry — which is a formal, independent investigation of matters of significant importance in New Zealand — will examine "whether government agencies took all practicable steps to protect the safety and welfare” of Tom Phillips' children, Attorney General Judith Collins said Thursday.

The announcement follows outrage in New Zealand about how a father involved in court proceedings was allowed to evade the authorities for years, while forcing his children to live in rugged conditions in remote countryside without access to

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