Gudgeon Bill: War Pensions Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
Gudgeon Bill: War Pensions Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4927] 
BILL GUDGEON (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First is satisfied with this bill so we support it. If it were possible we would like to see an increase in the veterans pension in recognition of the service of those people to their country. I suppose I could stand here and say that I am one of those persons who would be eligible for this pension. Only about 2 weeks ago I attended my battalion’s reunion in Hastings and on the list were the names of about 200 men who have already passed away. It saddened me to see that. 
But getting back to this bill I say that in the past the men and women who served—I am aware especially of those who served in the Second World War—in the armed forces were not aware of the benefits available to them as service people. Some have passed away as a result of their service in the desert but they were not aware of the benefits they could have claimed. They died without having that facility offered to them. Maybe that was because of their lack of knowledge or ignorance of what was available to them. But I think it is the responsibility of this Government and was the responsibility of previous Governments to make our servicemen and servicewomen aware of what is available to them. I look at the battalions of about 600 men and women that have served in East Timor. My battalion was a full operational battalion of 1040 men—no women. A lot of the guys asked me this question in Hastings: “What are we entitled to as veterans?” 
I visited Australia towards the end of last year. A great number of the servicemen whom I served with are now living in Australia and have lived there for quite a few years. They commented on the way that the Australian Government recognises them and takes care of them and said it is way beyond what our own Governments have done for our people here. When I listened to the previous speakers I was thinking that our service people deserve more than they get now. They would never ask for what they should have; they are too proud to do that. So we need to look at how we provide for the people who have served our country. How can we make them aware that they are entitled to this pension as a form of appreciation that this nation offers them? It will be a few years yet before I fall into that category. But I think I might just take that pension up when the time comes because I am now aware of what is there for me and for those who have served our country. 
About 3 weeks ago I was asked a question that I did not want to answer. It was whether I had been involved in taking the lives of any of the men or people I had fought against. That was a very hard question for me to answer. My reply was: “I have photos. Do you want to see them?”. The questioner hesitated because he did not think I had been involved in that kind of action. It has had an effect on me as a person who has served in the services. Whenever I am driving today and a car backfires my reaction is immediate. Sometimes my wife has looked at me when she has travelled with me and she has asked me what was going on because I have jumped. I have reacted to that sound as if I were in action even though that was over 30 years ago. 
Nearly every day of the week I get correspondence from veterans who have served in South-east Asia asking what I can do about Agent Orange and also from the naval service people who served around Christmas Island during the testing of the nuclear bombs there. I was at university in Hawaii when one of those bombs went off on Christmas Island. That night was brighter than the day. I did not realise that we had service people serving there in that area. Those men—and women if there were any on those ships—are still asking what the Government will do about that service. That is an indictment on our Governments which sent those men and women away. 
David Parker 
: And the British Government. 
BILL GUDGEON 
: I am talking about the New Zealand Government. Let us forget about the British Government; we made our decisions here. So I ask what is being done for those people. 
New Zealand First supports this bill. Hopefully we will look at this pension not as something we owe to service people but as something we give to them in appreciation of the service that they have given in order to enable us to have what we enjoy today. When I first came into Parliament many people looked at the Returned Services Association badge that I wear. A guy in our office did not wear his Returned Services Association badge. I said he should wear it and now he now does. Why is that? It is because I reminded him of his responsibility and of the service he rendered to our country. Now he wears his badge every day. 
Have any members been brought up in an environment where they were surrounded by men who had served our country and saw the battle scars and the bayonet wounds on them? As a kid I poked my finger in and out of the shrapnel holes in my father’s legs. I have seen the shape of a bayonet on the back of one of my uncles. But not once did they ask for an appreciation of their service. They died that way. In fact my father died because of the shrapnel in his body which caused the cancer he died from. 
I am bringing members back to earth here. I say we should look after our service people and take care of them. They need to be taken care of without having to ask the Government for help. As a returned serviceman I advise that strongly. When I look at the men whom I served with—over a company of them have passed on and have not enjoyed recognition by the Governments that sent them away overseas—I feel sorry for them. But those people would do it again if they had to. In fact they ask why they are not in Iraq. That is the spirit that these people have. They are prepared to do that. I did not answer that question. So I say that shows the quality of the people we have in our country.