Mark RonRON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First): I am going to quote something that was posted on my Facebook before we came to the House at 2 p.m.:God and soldier we adoreIn times of trouble and in war.Trouble gone and all things rightedGod forsaken soldier slighted.A couple of weeks back on behalf of New Zealand First I put out an invitation to all Ministers to all members of the House and to those who support our armed forces and our police—including their families—in the battle against suicide to attend a book launch to be hosted this evening for the book Your Subconscious Bodyguards: The Good News About PTSD written by Dion Jensen. We put out a press release on that and we gave the background on Dion Jensen. He is a Kiwi veteran. He served in East Timor he served as a New Zealand Police officer and he served as a security contractor in Iraq. He has drawn on his experiences in dealing with his demons to produce through his book a tool and a programme to help veterans police officers and indeed anyone to identify their symptoms and deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Noting the low numbers of people who have accepted that invitation we put out a press release last night again advising Ministers that the book launch was happening this evening and why we felt it would be a good thing for people to attend. We followed up with some phone calls.It is interesting and sadly ironic that this morning we read the story on Stuff of a report of the decision of the Wellington District Court which overturned the ACC's decision to decline a 56-year-old army veteran's application for cover and compensation for PTSD. Looking at this case we see the same old issues that have been raised over the last 30 to 40 years. This man has served his nation. He served in Afghanistan and he served in the police force. In the time of that service he endured several traumatic incidents particularly whilst on his tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2009. He witnessed such things as fatal rocket attacks and watched as a helicopter carrying 16 people exploded and crashed. There is a list in this article of things that this man has endured but what stands out very very clearly is that post his discharge from the army and post his inability to continue his employment in the police force he ended up—as seems to be par for the course—in a battle with the ACC. The ACC adopted a very stingy and mean-spirited approach to his claim. As his lawyer John Miller said: We wonder sometimes how people who argue the ACC points and deprive returned service personnel who have been diagnosed with PTSD compensation can sleep at night."Politicians are not held in high esteem by the Defence Force and there is very good reason for that. Very often when Defence Force personnel deploy they are sent off with accolades and promises afoot as to how well they will be treated when they return home. We wax lyrical on those deployments in this House and we do so again on Anzac Day when we laud applaud and honour those who die. But where we fail so consistently is in honouring and supporting those who have returned home complete in body but already fallen internally through PTSD. We throw them back into the mental health system which fails them. We throw them back into a very heartless mechanised system we call the ACC and we leave them to flounder as their marriages fall apart as their relationships fall apart and as they head down a pathway to depression and suicide.This evening at 6 p.m. we will host a book launch and speaking at that book launch will be the author Dion Jensen and also another gentleman Major Gordon Benfell who has an astonishing military career but who is a man who suffers PTSD. We in New Zealand First would like to see those members of the House who support our veterans—and I mean truly support our veterans—appear there. At the top of the list of who we would like to see walk through that door—because they have declined these invitations—are the Minister of Health the Minister for ACC the Minister of Veterans' Affairs and the Minister of Defence. We also note that the Minister of Health is a former Minister of Defence. It is all the more reason why they should front and just listen. That would be very helpful."