11. Veterans—Veterans' Support Act ReviewMARK PATTERSON (NZ First) to the Minister for VeteransVeterans—Veterans' Support Act ReviewMARK PATTERSON (NZ First): To the Minister for Veterans: what progress if any—SPEAKER: Order! We seem to have an increasing problem in the House of people not fully reading the questions. Veterans' Affairs" I think the member means.MARK PATTERSON: Sorry it's written differently on my sheet.SPEAKER: Start again please.11. MARK PATTERSON (NZ First) to the Minister for Veterans: What progress if any has been made on the review of the operation of the Veterans' Support Act 2014?Hon RON MARK (Minister for Veterans): I thank the member for the question. This morning I tabled in the House the report produced by the review of the operations of the Veterans' Support Act 2014 carried out by Professor Ron Paterson of Auckland University. The review a legislative requirement began in June 2017 and due to high interest from the veterans' community with 700 personal submissions 200 written submissions and 13 public meetings the review was extended by three months to the end of March 2018. It is a high-quality report with much for the Government to consider. How we support our veterans goes to the core of who we are as a country and I encourage all veterans' support communities the veterans themselves and families to read that report.Mark Patterson: What will be the Government's response to the review?Hon RON MARK: The report makes a total of 64 recommendations. Some of these are low-hanging fruit: technical fixes that can be dealt with relatively easily and quickly and we will. I have asked officials to begin work on these immediately. Some changes have already progressed with Veterans' Affairs working on five of the seven main recommendations as we speak. Other recommendations are more substantial and complex so I've instructed Veterans' Affairs to work through these. We'll have a fully developed set of options and a plan for follow-up action by the end of this year. We'll give all—SPEAKER: Order! That's enough. [Interruption] That is enough. That is enough.Hon Maggie Barry: What specific initiatives is the Minister intending to introduce for contemporary veterans who are suffering now from mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder?Hon RON MARK: Some may have missed it but we actually initiated a change last year when this Government announced a contribution of $25000 to No Duff in recognition of the sterling work that they're doing as first responders to contemporary veterans who are suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress injury. This year in the Budget we announced another $25000 per year for the next four years. That is on top of the $250000 per year to the RSA that that Government quashed in its time and that this Government has put back in place to assist with that very same—SPEAKER: Order! Hon Maggie Barry: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was specifically around—SPEAKER: And the question was certainly addressed—far too long.Hon Maggie Barry: Not accurately.SPEAKER: Order! We've had—sorry would the member resume his seat. I probably should have stood up to rule on the matter and the fact that I didn't has probably saved the member from a similar punishment that went to Mr Brownlee. But I will not have comments of that sort on my rulings.Rt Hon Winston Peters: What is the Minister's view of the foul rumours that this review is all the work of the National Party and not this Government?Hon RON MARK: Great question. There are some who believe that this is all the work of the National Party. It is appropriate to remind the House that this work commenced under a Labour - New Zealand First coalition Government back in September 2007 when the Government gave direction to the Law Commission to commence a review of the then outdated War Pensions Act. That review—SPEAKER: Order! That's certainly not only addressed but answered the question.Clayton Mitchell: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Through the question that was just asked by the Rt Hon—SPEAKER: It's all right. I'm going to deal with that matter when I've worked out how I'm going to deal with it at the end of this question.Mark Patterson: Will he consider the question of who should be defined as a veteran which has been raised in this report?Hon RON MARK: This is an interesting recommendation from Professor Paterson. The current Act does not take into consideration the concerns expressed by a lot of veterans that the definition of who is a veteran is outdated and out of place. That question falls outside of the review but given the seriousness and given the number of submissions and given the strength of the feeling we will commence work on this and we will have some recommendations back to the Government on this matter before the end of the year.Hon Maggie Barry: Will the Minister commit to merging the Veterans' Health Advisory Panel into a new Veterans' Advisory Board as recommended in the review?Hon RON MARK: If the member reads the report which was just tabled this morning you'll see that that's one of the recommendations. I will say this—Hon Amy Adams: She just said that—she just said that.Hon RON MARK: Settle petal—settle.SPEAKER: Order! I think the member's just sort of evened it up for Mr Brownlee and it's made my task slightly easier. He will stand withdraw and apologise. I just want to make it clear that that sort of sexist remark is not going to be accepted in the House. Stand withdraw and apologise.Hon RON MARK: I withdraw and apologise.Hon Todd McClay: No you didn't mean that.Hon RON MARK: The question is a good question and—SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. [Pause in proceedings] Well is the member going to do it or do I have to tell him?Hon Todd McClay: I withdraw and apologise.Hon RON MARK: The question is a good question. It's one of the 64 recommendations that we'll be working our way through and I don't anticipate that we will agree with all of the recommendations but I will just leave the member with this: I do not intend for this report to sit in the bottom of my draw and gather dust. Every recommendation will be taken seriously—just watch and see.Hon Maggie Barry: So regarding the treatment and rehabilitation provisions of the Act which are referred to constantly through the warrant of fitness report it would become apparent that a number of people are—SPEAKER: Order! Order!—Hon Maggie Barry: —not having regular check-ups.SPEAKER: Question.Hon Maggie Barry: What will the Minister do about that?SPEAKER: No. Sorry I probably overrode the member. Can the member ask a question starting probably with a question word.Hon Maggie Barry: So what will the Minister do about the difficulties around the provisions of regular check-ups no longer being dealt with for veterans? And their conditions have worsened as a result of that so what will the Minister do now about it?Hon RON MARK: That's a really good question. I just wish the last Government had actually thought about it when it had the chance to do so. Can I take the opportunity to introduce the member to this new report which has also been announced today which is The Veteran Rehabilitation Strategy. Can I recommend it to the member for reading because it deals with that very issue.Hon Maggie Barry: So why was it that the Minister released this report the warrant of fitness which has been long awaited and potentially very contentious on the same day as the report that he is about to launch in about three hours' time? It's confusing.SPEAKER: No no. I'll get the Minister to answer the first part of the question. He's got no responsibility for the second.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Supplementary.SPEAKER: No no. Let him answer the question first.Hon RON MARK: Thank you Mr Speaker. I can only say to the member that we're pretty busy. We're churning out a lot of work. Both these reports—I got this report on Monday and I felt it was a good idea to get it out as soon as we could. This report is ready to go and it's good timing to have both reports on the Table so that people can read them together. That's a good idea really isn't it?Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Minister confirm that members of this Government will continue their proud record of caring for veterans in this country and not just be fast on the lip and slow on the hip?SPEAKER: The member can answer the first part of the question.Hon RON MARK: Can I phrase it this way: this coalition Government takes seriously its duty of care and responsibility to veterans—the men and women who serve our nation in uniform. We also will be looking very closely at something that the previous Government would not touch and that is a covenant between the Crown—the Government—and the men and women who serve in its forces to recognise the exceptional service they give and a social contract between the Government and veterans.Hon Maggie Barry: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Thank you Mr Speaker. I waited until the questions had been asked before I raised this point of order and I would like to clarify any confusion that might have arisen from the interjection that the Speaker held me up on earlier which was not commenting on—SPEAKER: No no no. Order! The member will resume her seat. Thank you."