Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8025] 
1. LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (NZ Labour—Mana) 
 to the  
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
: Why have a further 125 New Zealand military personnel been sent to the Solomon Islands and how long will they be deployed? 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
: 
 The New Zealand infantry company on stand-by will be deployed to the Solomon Islands at the end of this week probably for a period of up to 3 months. The deployment is to support police-led operations about to commence aimed at securing illegal weapons not handed in as a result of the recent amnesty. 
Luamanuvao Winnie Laban 
: How many weapons are still thought to be at large and what will the actual role of the military personnel be? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: The numbers are improving all the time. At the end of last week some 2700 weapons had been handed in including 550 high-powered weapons. As of last evening that number had increased by 655 so 3355 weapons have been handed in—of those 628 are high-powered. Our estimate is that probably just over 300 high-powered or military weapons are still out in the community. The police will act under search warrant to secure those weapons with the military in the background as an escort to ensure deterrence against violent resistance and as a quick-reaction force if that is required. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: When the Minister indicated on his visit to Australia in June this year that New Zealand could deploy between 100 and 200 armed forces personnel why did the Government initially send 105 support and logistics people but only now decide to send 125 infantry combat soldiers; has the situation deteriorated so that they need that capability or did he receive a phone call from Mr Downer? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: When we announced on 14 July that we would be sending a deployment to the Solomon Islands we announced that those who were needed immediately would go immediately. That included the helicopters the support personnel the headquarters staff an engineering element and a medical civil and humanitarian group. We said that the infantry would be on 7-day stand-by until it was needed. At the end of the amnesty as I mentioned in my initial answer we are now spreading out across the whole of the Solomon Islands. There is now an actual need for the infantry company and the company will be sent as indicated previously when it is needed. 
Keith Locke 
: How will the security provided by the New Zealand military personnel assist tribal leaders in advancing community peace-building projects and grass-roots development and how will New Zealand assist in advancing such projects? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: The key role of the military will be to back up the police-led deployment and the key first task is to bring in the weapons. Until the weapons are secured the prospects of going on to start the process of rebuilding the Solomon Islands economically and socially cannot be done. Part of the deployment however will involve working directly on civil and humanitarian projects and the New Zealanders in those sorts of deployments have a very good reputation for working alongside local people to achieve those ends. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Is the Minister really suggesting that the situation in the Solomons now is potentially more dangerous and thus needs 125 combat soldiers now than it was at the initial deployment? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: No the member should listen. The reason the people are going up there is that we have moved from phase 1 which did not require the people on the ground because it was a voluntary weapons hand-in to stage 2 where the police are now being based in six different areas of the Solomons Islands and require that sort of military back-up. The level of danger is no higher today than it was 5 weeks ago but obviously when people go in to secure weapons from people who have not voluntarily given them up we need the military back-up behind the police.