3. Question No. 3—DefenceDARROCH BALL (NZ First) to the Minister of DefenceQuestion No. 3—Defence3. DARROCH BALL (NZ First) to the Minister of Defence: What actions did the New Zealand Defence Force take in response to the eruption on Whakaari / White Island?Hon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): The New Zealand Defence Force swiftly leaned forward in response to the eruption prepositioning assets and personnel so that they were ready for when requests might come through from the relevant authorities leading the operation. The response included capabilities from all three services—on the ground in the air and on the sea—and was ably commanded at the scene by personnel from the HQ Deployable Joint Interagency Task Force and from HQ Joint Forces New Zealand back in Trentham. I wish to commend all those defence force personnel involved for their bravery and their professionalism. This operation had real risks and required great care. I personally feel very privileged and proud to be their Minister and would hope that all of New Zealand would share in this pride and note that their defence force whose actions reinforce their central role in providing support to the community and the nation in times of disaster and crisis as always was very very professional.Darroch Ball: What role has E Squadron 1 NZSAS regiment played in the response?Hon RON MARK: While the role played by the eight-person unit that went on to the island on Friday has been well documented it is worth repeating to highlight the real bravery and determination that was on display. Special force operators from E Squadron 1 NZSAS specialists in responding in hazardous situations deployed to the island on Friday morning in highly dangerous conditions. With the risk of another eruption ever present the team waded through knee-deep acidic sludge with intense heat building underneath the three layers of specialist garments and equipment. Special Operations Component Commander Colonel Rian McKinstry has described the team as having gone past the limits of endurance in this effort. They retrieved the six bodies from locations previously identified by air surveillance assets and continued to search for the remaining two who were missing for as long as they could. They completed the task ahead of them and I hope that through these efforts it brought some peace to the families of those deceased.Darroch Ball: What role has the Royal New Zealand Air Force played in the response?Hon RON MARK: The Royal New Zealand Air Force's performance as always was exemplary. Their air surveillance which is so important when requiring good intelligence and situational awareness in disasters such as this has been provided by the P3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The NH90 helicopter rotary wing support has been provided throughout including for casualty transfers. Further air transport tasks in support of the operation have been conducted by C130 Hercules King Air aircraft and by the A109 helicopters.Darroch Ball: What role has the Royal New Zealand Navy played in this response?Hon RON MARK: Once again the Navy was to the fore as well. HMNZS Wellington has been a constant presence throughout the response as a staging point for the operation providing maritime security and maintaining an exclusion zone and through hosting yesterday the bereaved family members for the minute's silence at 2.11 p.m. The rigid hull inflatable boats operating off Wellington have played a crucial role in transporting personnel to and from the island and in deploying dive teams in searches off of the island and on top of that the Navy's SH-2G Seasprite helicopters have carried out vital air surveillance and rotary wing transport support throughout the entire operation.