Collins Judith: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Collins Judith: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:630;Page:2148] 
12.  
JUDITH COLLINS (National—Clevedon) 
 to the  
Minister of Veterans’ Affairs 
: Will he agree to a request from Ms Freda Moffitt that the joint working-group into the plight of Viet Nam veterans and their families affected by exposure to Agent Orange bring its draft report and recommendations back to veterans and whanau before they are submitted to the Government; if not why not? 
Hon RICK BARKER (Minister of Veterans’ Affairs) 
: 
 No. The purpose of the joint working-group is to recommend directly to the Government for its consideration a package of actions and procedures to address the health and well-being needs of Viet Nam veterans and their families. Prior to making those recommendations the joint working-group has consulted widely with Viet Nam veterans and their families. That consultation is complete and it is time for the working-group to report its findings. 
Judith Collins 
: Why did the Minister advise Ms Freda Moffitt last week on 16 March that: “The Government has yet to respond formally to the health select committee.”? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I made that comment mistakenly on advice and I regret it. 
Judith Collins 
: Did the Minister read the letter before he signed it; if not why not? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Yes. 
Darien Fenton 
: When was the joint working-group set up and why? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The joint working-group was established in February 2005 because it was only under a Labour-led Government that the concerns of Viet Nam veterans about their exposure to a toxic environment were accepted. This Government encouraged submissions to the Health Committee and agreed to the joint working-group comprising representatives of the Ex-Vietnam Services Association the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association and officials from the office of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs New Zealand to address the concerns. The progress on this longstanding issue is in stark contrast with the record of inaction and denial from the previous National Government. 
Judith Collins 
: Does the Minister accept that the exposure of Viet Nam veterans and their families to Agent Orange is the biggest issue in his portfolio and that for him to sign a letter that stated that the Government had not responded when the Government’s response was tabled in this House on 14 December 2004 and is on his department’s website is a disgrace? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I accept that I made a mistake. I have admitted it I have accepted it and I simply say publicly to the person to whom I wrote the letter that I apologise for that. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Why was the consultation sought by the Treaty partner referred to by the Minister in his letter of 16 March 2006 to Freda Moffitt a different model of consultation that is not applicable when one considers that 60 percent of the Viet Nam veterans are Maori? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The Treaty model is a process between the Crown and tangata whenua. This issue is between the Government of the day and those veterans who went to Viet Nam and their families. It is entirely a different purpose. 
Judith Collins 
: When did the Minister first find out that the Government response to the Health Committee inquiry was tabled in this Parliament on 14 December 2004 and referred to on the Government website? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I cannot recall the precise moment. 
Tariana Turia 
: What is the Minister’s model of consultation with Maori based on and what is the rationale for that model? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The Government has a process of consultation with Maori on Treaty issues that is appropriate to Treaty issues. The Government has a process of consultation with the former service personnel who went to Viet Nam and their families that has been agreed to by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association and the organisation that represents most of the Viet Nam veterans the Ex-Vietnam Services Association. I find it incredibly lamentable that people are trying to make petty politics about that process given that it has been 30 years since the issue arose. What the former service personnel of Viet Nam and their families want is for the report to be given to the Government and to get an answer. 
Judith Collins 
: If the Minister cannot remember the precise time or day even when he first found out that the Government’s response was tabled in this Parliament on 14 December 2004 and is on his department’s website can he tell the House whether he knew at the stage when he signed the letter to Ms Freda Moffitt that the Government had already formally responded to the Health Committee? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: On reflection I do recall the Government’s response to the select committee being considered in the Cabinet process and sent off to be tabled in the House. At the time when the letter was put to me in draft form—and I did read it thoroughly—I overlooked that fact. The fact that I cannot remember the tabling of every document in every situation when I write a letter just shows that I am only human. I accept that I made a mistake. I have acknowledged I have made a mistake and I tender an apology to the person. I can do no more than that. 
Judith Collins 
: Does the Minister have the foggiest idea what is going on in his portfolio or does he think that handing out a few certificates and the odd lapel pin will satisfy Viet Nam veterans; why does he not just let the veterans and their whanau see the draft report? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The veterans will see the draft report as soon as it can be released. This Government not the National Government has taken the concern of Viet Nam veterans more seriously than ever before. Given that a National Government led New Zealand into the quagmire of Viet Nam it is outrageous that a member of the National Party should criticise anything this Government is doing when it is the only Government that has genuinely addressed the concerns of Viet Nam service personnel. 
Hon Mark Burton 
: Can he confirm to the House that the process of consultation followed including the process for the handling of the report is precisely as agreed and negotiated by his predecessors with the appropriate veterans organisations and to do as the member is suggesting now would be a breach of good faith with those representative veterans organisations? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I can indeed confirm that and I can report to the House that the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association supports absolutely the process; so does the organisation representing Viet Nam veterans the Ex-Vietnam Services Association. They want this process completed as soon as possible and the Government is considering the report. I think all those Viet Nam veterans who have turned up at the meetings would be appalled at the petty politicking on this matter by the National Party. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I must voice my disappointment in the attitude of the speaker in referring to genuine questions about Viet Nam veterans especially in regard to the fact that the Government is supposed to have policy for Maori. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order.