SpeechHon ALFRED NGARO (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise to take a call on the Veterans' Support Amendment Bill (No 2) and I do apologise for my tardiness in coming in and out. I've just been talking to some of my veterans of the local Returned and Services' Association (RSA). So I want to acknowledge the members of the Te Atatū RSA the Henderson RSA and the Swanson RSA as well. And just in having a conversation with them this bill is actually critically important to them. I know the Minister will know that.I want to acknowledge Richard Paterson otherwise known as Banjo" back in the RSA. He was just furiously calling me and he just wanted me to put on the record especially in regards to this bill—I know the Minister is aware of this. I suppose what's come up is that there has been the aspect that relates to this bill around the recognition around pre-1974 service of veterans. So I just wanted to announce that as an advocate for our community I had to go out and take a call. They did ask that in this House to the Minister I would put that forward. It does relate to this bill and to the amendments that have been made. So I just want to put that through and particularly around their status. There's also too that they have put in a submission in regards to the years of 1966 to 1975.So as the Minister will know one of the big challenges is that when people put their lives on the line when they serve King and country—or Queen and country in this case—they do so with the belief that they are doing it for the good of the country its people and with a huge amount of patriotism and loyalty. And in some cases they just want to be acknowledged for that service. I know the Minister knows this. So I want to put in the fact that I commend the Minister for this bill the amendment that's come out of this that then precedes the Act of 2014. And I just want to highlight those issues that have come before them as well. One of the things that I believe is important—as you become part of the stories on a Friday night just before the 6 o'clock bell and the recitation of the ode then you sit often long into the night and you hear the stories of old and the importance of that and the impact that that has. And I think the Ron Paterson report begins to unveil some of the challenges from that. Probably the most significant challenges are around the trauma that they've had to experience while in either the conflict of war or in situations where they've found themselves in confrontation. And so I want to recognise that in the report it actually talks about a further recognition around post-traumatic stress disorder. And I know my colleague the Hon Michael Woodhouse has talked about this but this is a very real issue. Many of them have talked about the impacts on them their family and their children as well.In fact the interesting thing is that they were only able to tell their stories not to their children but often to their grandchildren. And I just want to recognise that in the provisions of this bill it will start to look at some of the recommendations there and in particular around improving the recognition of psychological illness often the long tail that precedes from that and the impact often on the children not so much on the grandchildren because finally after a generation they begin to tell their stories. They want the generations to know. And that's the reason why we will see the number of attendance by families now coming in; children wanting to hear the stories to recognise the service of their grandparents as well. So I want to acknowledge that's in there as well.One of the other things that is really important that's highlighted in this report and often you hear in the RSAs the veterans talking about it is the legacy they would leave behind for their children and their grandchildren. So I want to recognise also too in the recommendations from the Ron Paterson report extending the time limit entitlement for treatment of counselling but also for the bursary to include industry training organisations in New Zealand and overseas. That's critically important as well. I know that I'm helping one particular family one of the veterans whose grandson unfortunately hasn't been able to be successful in things academic. But all of a sudden he's found the opportunity. So we've got him into a trades training scheme. And this sort of approach this sort of support will be just so welcome to them. They'll see this as a great pathway to helping them sort of pursue that. And again when I look at this recommendation I hear the word "legacy" and that's what they look for. This is an opportunity to know that for their service they're now being recognised and their grandchildren now can take that on board as well. And I think that's really important as well. Also too abolishing the five-year restriction on child care assistance I think becomes important especially those that are also part of that conflict and have been previously.One of the other things that was mentioned and I know my colleague Agnes Loheni talked about Pasifika being actively involved and I on Anzac Day now attend five services. The fifth one in the afternoon is in South Auckland and I especially recognise the contribution of a number of our Pasifika communities. In particular even though I know it's Samoan Language Week it's one of the things as a Cook Islander that we can be proud of—that we actually were ahead of the Samoans. There were actually 500 Cook Islanders in World War I that were there. But it's just a wonderful time for them to recognise the importance of their grandfathers and even in some cases of their fathers and think about the importance of that service. And when I looked down at this report I begin to see how the supporting families of imprisoned veterans—you know this is such a wide-ranging report and I just welcome the amendments to the Act. It begins to be able to look at how we can support the broader aspect of the impact of that.Especially when I've heard the stories when those have come back with—and we couldn't name it back then—what it was—but now we can. It is post-traumatic stress disorder. And now it's about an awareness that actually you can talk about that. But then often the people who bore the impact of that were the families were the wives were the children. So that's why I want to speak to this recommendation and just wholeheartedly endorse the support that they will give and the understanding about what they've gone through. And hopefully into the future then the impact of this will say that when we do—I mean war is war and unfortunately it has casualties to it and the conflict can be devastating and far reaching.But I remember the reasons why the whole thing around the First World War—you know the greatest of all wars that was meant to be—taught the lesson about rest and recreation—right? So they actually learnt that you couldn't just continue to go on and be in battle in the conflict of war without actually being at a point where actually you need to have some time. And so that was a lesson that was learnt. So I hope that that also too is one of the lessons that we're learning now that we carry on into the present—because the unfortunate thing is that human nature is such that this won't be the last of conflicts that even in this House adorn the walls talking about the conflicts that as a country we've been through. So what will be some of the learnings that we can take? So the Paterson report I believe is indicating some of that learning. How do we need to support those people during that period of time as well?I just want to finally acknowledge the Minister's declaration of a deployment as qualifying operational service is to be published on an internet site maintained by Veterans' Affairs New Zealand rather than in the Gazette. I think again that's activity and participation that's broadened that out. Rather than a centralised approach it's getting a little bit more local to our communities as well.So I'm pleased to be able to speak on this bill. I'm glad that I was able to take the call outside so that Banjo who's watching now tonight—so that I could advocate on his behalf some of the things that he was so passionate about and at the same time too just wholeheartedly endorse these recommendations that I believe are just so important to recognise the service and the sacrifice that has been made by many of our veterans. I just want to commend the Minister on this bill as well. Thank you.Marama Davidson: Madam Speaker?DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well are you calling?"