Barker Rick: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Barker Rick: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:673;Page:19462] 
12. 
Hon RICK BARKER (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Veterans’ Affairs 
: When can veterans expect to have a full response from the Government in response to the Law Commission’s report “A New Support Scheme for Veterans”? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Veterans’ Affairs) 
: 
 Work is ongoing but the Government remains committed to providing a piece of legislation that meets the needs of our older veterans from World War II and the needs of our current and future veterans of modern-day deployments. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The question was a primary question. It did ask “when”. Although there may be no specific answer I would have thought that some reference to that in a primary question would be appropriate. 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: It is difficult to give a date when the work is ongoing. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That would have been a very good answer. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: Does the Minister agree with the Law Commission’s two principles—that veterans should be supported in a way equivalent to other New Zealanders and that those injured when serving their country in a war or an emergency should be supported in a way above that of other New Zealanders; if so when will this be given effect to and how long will the National Government deem it acceptable for ACC claimants to be better supported than those veterans who have served their country and been injured in the course of that service? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: The previous Government had 9 years to address this issue. Instead it sent it off to the Law Commission in the last year of its term. Frankly we are addressing this issue. It is a very complex issue and we are not going to rush it and get it wrong. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: What does it say about the National Government’s priorities when veterans have been waiting for a year or more for an answer to the Law Commission’s report while South Canterbury Finance’s wealthy investors were attended to immediately by having their cash and interest paid out which cost over a billion dollars? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: It says an awful lot about the Labour Government’s priorities— 
Hon Rick Barker 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.  
Mr SPEAKER 
: I say to both members that I am on my feet. The Minister could see I was on my feet and she did not resume her seat. She may be grumpy with me for pulling her up over the first answer but we do not start an answer like that. I accept that the question had a political dimension and therefore I was not expecting from the Minister a purely benign answer. However to start the answer with something to do with the Labour Government is barely attempting to answer the question asked. The Labour Government cannot be anything to do with the Minister’s responsibilities. I can accept that in the fullness of an answer there may be issues that spill over from the previous Government but to start the answer that way is not very helpful. Because time has passed I invite the Hon Rick Barker to repeat his supplementary question. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: What does it say about the National Government’s priorities when veterans have been waiting for a year for an answer to the Law Commission’s report while South Canterbury Finance’s wealthy investors were attended to immediately by having their cash and interest paid out costing the taxpayer over a billion dollars? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: It says an awful lot about the priorities the previous Government had put in place—the legislation that required the current Government to pay back South Canterbury Finance investors straight away. But it also says a lot about the fact that the member raising this question did not even bother to raise this issue with the select committee this morning— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No no. That is not acceptable. The first part of the answer was perfectly fine.