7. Defence Force—OperationsJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister of DefenceDefence Force—Operations7. JENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister of Defence: What recent reports has he received on the New Zealand Defence Force delivering value to the community nation or world?Hon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): As established in the Government's new Strategic Defence Policy Statement 2018 the Defence Force delivers value to the community the nation and the world. Recently I received a report from the Defence Force delivering value to the community by providing nurses to support the Ministry of Health and district health boards—in particular Radio New Zealand National carried a report this morning where the nurses' organisation's industrial services manager said The New Zealand Defence Force nurses help keep people safe and the deployment didn't undermine what the nurses were trying to achieve." I commend the New Zealand Defence Force for being ready and able to provide support despite the National Party's rather cynical posturing.Jenny Marcroft: Is the Minister aware of any recent efforts by the navy that delivered value to the community nation or world?Hon RON MARK: Yes. HMNZS Matataua was used recently to assist Zealandia sanctuary in mapping a lake floor in Wellington. This will play an important conservation role for the lake by helping to eradicate the introduced carp. And sadly HMNZS Matataua was called upon recently to assist police recover the body of Matthew Wallis from Lake Wanaka. The team helped locate and lift the wreckage which enabled police to return Matthew to his family. Our condolences and deepest sympathies go out to them during this very difficult time. Jenny Marcroft: Is the Minister aware of any other work where the New Zealand Defence Force has delivered value to the community nation or world?Hon RON MARK: Yes. Last month I told the House about the successful work HMNZS Taupo is doing on the world stage with Operation Wasawasa in Fiji. I can advise that they have helped Fijian authorities to retrieve over 12 kilograms of cocaine from a remote island only accessible by ship. Through the combined patrols which began in early June the New Zealand Defence Force has been helping Fiji authorities to enforce regulations for inshore fishing to protect their fishery resources and to police that South Pacific country's borders. I congratulate and the whole of the Government congratulates the New Zealand Defence Force for the great work they are doing every day in support of our communities our nation and the world.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Before he approved the deployment of nurses into district health boards to assist with the 12 June nurses' strike did he satisfy himself that the parties to that dispute had fulfilled their obligations under sections 11 12 and 13 of schedule 1B of the Employment Relations Act?SPEAKER: Order! Unless the member tells me that that is a requirement of the Defence Act I am going to rule the question out.Hon Michael Woodhouse: It would normally be a requirement under section 9 of the Defence Act to make sure all laws are complied with before Defence Force personnel were deployed in New Zealand in peacetime. I'm just asking the Minister whether he was satisfied that all of those boxes had been ticked.SPEAKER: Yes and I think that goes further than the section 9 requirements. It is not the responsibility of the Minister of Defence once he's received a request to go down below the surface into the negotiations and make legal judgments in that area. It is an area that some of us have looked at in the past.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. As you know Mr Speaker the Defence Act has been changed—what is it called? Amended—SPEAKER: Updated.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Updated. And it is a responsibility for the Defence Force to provide proper health and safety conditions for New Zealand troops on shore. You will remember a number of your colleagues at the time being quite concerned that those provisions might extend to deployments as well. But it is abundantly clear that the Minister ultimately making a request would have an obligation to ensure that people were being treated properly inside the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act in anything they were being asked to do.SPEAKER: And that's easily resolved. Are the sections that Mr Woodhouse quoted anything to do with the Health and Safety at Work Act?Hon Michael Woodhouse: They are actually in respect of the Code of Good Faith in bargaining. But in support of the shadow Leader of the House there are general obligations I think on the Minister of Defence to ensure that the deployments are consistent with other laws. I don't see how the question can be ruled out. If he doesn't know the answer or didn't get that advice that would be a perfectly appropriate answer. But I can't see how the question is out of order.SPEAKER: Well I'm ruling it out of order because I'm saying that those provisions of the Employment Relations Act are not his responsibility. He has an obligation to my understanding—because as I say I have had some familiarity—to get an undertaking that the appropriate procedures have been put in place as far as employment relations are concerned but not to dig down into the detail of the negotiations which those sections relate to."