Dean Jacqui: General Debate 
Dean Jacqui: General Debate 
[Volume:665;Page:12995] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 A press release from the New Zealand Defence Force website from 2006 entitled “Pre Deployment Training in Tekapo” eerily foreshadowed what happened in Afghanistan overnight in the incident that resulted in the death of Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell and the injury of two other soldiers while on patrol in Bamian Province. The New Zealand Defence Force article describes how in pre-deployment training: “Gunfire erupts as a man carrying an assault rifle storms into a remote Afghan village and opens fire on a group of New Zealand soldiers conversing with locals during their routine patrol. The New Zealanders quickly withdraw covering each other just as their sergeant has instructed them to in a situation such as this. The mock exercise carried out in Tekapo … was one of many worst-case scenarios the next rotation of the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Teams [undergo] before their deployment in Afghanistan …”. 
The pre-deployment training is designed to prepare New Zealand troops for whatever scenarios they might face during their deployment. It includes advanced combat training group exercises and the development of an understanding of the culture of the people of Afghanistan. The training is realistic progressive in intensity and difficult. In the words of one soldier: “As we left for Afghanistan I personally felt well-prepared and confident to do the job required.” 
The job is to assist the Afghan Transitional Authority to extend its influence beyond Kabul by promoting stability through the provincial reconstruction team in Bamian Province. The provincial reconstruction team is tasked with maintaining security in Bamian Province and it does this by conducting frequent patrols throughout the province—patrols such as the one Tim O’Donnell was leading last night. The provincial reconstruction team also supports the provincial and local government by providing advice and assistance to the provincial governor to the Afghan national police and to district sub-governors. 
Lastly the New Zealand provincial reconstruction team identifies prepares and provides project management advice for New Zealand aid projects within the region. These projects are often contracted to Afghan companies which then hire local workers to assist with the completion of these projects. Each project provides new amenities and also provides employment in the region. The projects undertaken are extremely significant to the local people. A new well may be a small construction project but it can provide clean water for a village for many years. 
In other deployments including those in environments as diverse as Timor-Leste Bougainville the Solomon Islands Bosnia and the Middle East New Zealanders have been respected for their professionalism and their ability to engage and relate to the local people. I am very proud to say that both my sister and my son in the New Zealand Army have served in Timor-Leste and I would further add that my son would “bust a gut” to do a tour to Afghanistan. 
These types of tasks are indicative of the wide-ranging and increasingly complex nature of modern peacekeeping operations. New Zealand’s international commitment is to cover a range of operations including enhancing State stability and securing operations in weak and fragile States and aiding humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. We can be proud of New Zealand’s contribution in places like Afghanistan. The New Zealand provincial reconstruction team aims to ensure security in the region to help with the distribution of aid and also to promote nation building. 
In my contribution to this debate I wish finally to extend my condolences to the family of Tim O’Donnell and to the families of the two injured soldiers. I wish them a speedy recovery.