Goff Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoff Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 08 May 2013. Volume:689;Page:9639. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.Hon PHIL GOFF (Labour—Mt Roskill) to theMinister of Defence: Does he agree with reported statements that New Zealand Defence Force personnel in Crib 19 were sent to Afghanistan without full pre-deployment training given that their commanding officer believed they were not adequately prepared but felt he had no choice but to deploy them anyway?Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I will be answering this question on behalf of the Minister of Defence but I would point out that there are aspects of this question that could refer to a suppressed coroner’s report which we cannot refer to in this House. In recent days Mr Goff has either deliberately released some of that material or inadvertently done so. I do not think we should exacerbate the act by speaking of it further in this House. What I will do is attempt to answer his question from general information that I have been able to pick up today from the Ministry of Defence in order to answer this question.Mr SPEAKER: Of course the responsibility for the content of the answer is the responsibility of the Minister and he can certainly say that it is not in the public interest due to a suppression order if he so chooses.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) on behalf of theMinister of Defence: The commanding officer made no such comments. Mr Goff is relying on the comments of a warrant officer who was one of more than 16 instructors who prepared Crib 19 at the collective training centre. The commanding officer of Crib 19 was confident that they were ready for deployment into the theatre where further in-location specific training took place.Hon Phil Goff: Was it correct that pre-deployment training was reduced from 5 weeks to 3 weeks because of Rugby World Cup commitments which meant that training outcomes were not achieved and that it was reported to the New Zealand Defence Force that this introduced “considerable risk” to that deployment?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The commanding officer was satisfied that they were suitably trained to be deployed into the theatre. Further training was given to Crib 19 in theatre. The situation is that the commanding officer of the outgoing unit has to be satisfied that the incoming unit is operationally capable just as the commander of the incoming unit has to be similarly in a position to assert capability. In addition the combat training trainer who went to Afghanistan to complete that in-location specific training required for troops in Afghanistan was satisfied that they were competent. The line that Mr Goff is taking is completely unreasonable and terribly disrespectful to those troops.Hon Phil Goff: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You will recall—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Rubbish.Hon Phil Goff: Mr Speaker I am raising a point of order and the Minister I am questioning is speaking during it—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well shut up your own members.Hon Phil Goff: —and he is still doing it.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Silence will be maintained while Mr Phil Goff gives his point of order.Hon Phil Goff: As you will recall my question was very specific. By reducing pre-deployment from 5 weeks to 3 weeks and therefore not achieving the training outcomes did the Defence Force have reported to it that this introduced considerable risk? It is very specific. None of those things were answered.Mr SPEAKER: Is the Minister in a position to answer the specificity of the question? He is not.Hon Phil Goff: Of course not. Did the extension of Crib 19 from the usual 6 months to 8 months without any provision being made for leave because of that extension again caused by the Rugby World Cup leave personnel exhausted at the end of that deployment thereby also introducing further risk?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Crib 19 knew before they left New Zealand that their deployment would be extended. Further leave provisions were made for Crib 19 and on the last point I do not have enough information to comment.Hon Phil Goff: Why was Romero Base combat outpost in Bamian denied the extra medical training resource which was described as essential and given only one set of defibrillating pads which was described as insufficient if more than one wounded person needed resuscitation?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I am not in a position to answer that question.