Henare PeeniMINISTERIAL STATEMENTSAfghanistan—New Zealand Defence Force Involvement in EvacuationHon PEENI HENARE (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to make a ministerial statement relating to the New Zealand Defence Force's (NZDF's) involvement in the evacuation from Afghanistan. Tuatahi māku ka tangi atu ki ngā aituā maha ka pā ki roto ki tēnei tūāhuatanga haere atu rā koutou. [Firstly I wish to mourn the many who have died having been caught up in this situation may you rest in peace.]First I wish to acknowledge those who have passed throughout this terrible time. I want to acknowledge the more than 3500 NZDF and other agency personnel and veterans and in particular the 10 New Zealanders who lost their lives during the 20-year deployment to improve regional security and development in Afghanistan. I would also like to acknowledge the opportunity today to speak to recent events in Afghanistan. I welcome the interest of the public and members of Parliament in the significant and complex developments in Afghanistan over the previous weeks. These are important issues and ones that will continue to impact the global community for months and years to come.On 19 August I and a group of ministerial colleagues whom Cabinet had appointed with powers to act for this operation approved the deployment of an NZDF C-130 Hercules aircraft and up to 80 NZDF personnel some to operate on the ground at the Kabul airport and the remainder to be based out of an airbase in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).We had NZDF personnel on the ground at Kabul airport within four days of the ministerial decision to deploy our Defence Force to support the international efforts to evacuate and resettle civilians from Afghanistan. These personnel were able to get to work executing the instructions of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment colleagues making this a truly interagency effort. That is an exceptionally fast response considering the complexity of the operating environment and the unfolding situation at the time. This demonstrates the high levels of training that the NZDF maintains to deliver its primary output of military operations to the Government and people of Aotearoa New Zealand. During the deployment the NZDF C-130 Hercules and crew made three evacuation flights to and from Kabul airport succeeding in evacuating a number of civilians from Afghanistan as part of the wider coalition effort. I also want to specifically commend the bravery tenacity and resilience of our ground forces who operated from the heart of Afghanistan at the Kabul airport throughout the deployment. These personnel made an extremely valuable contribution. Of particular note are the outstanding efforts of our special forces personnel including a female engagement team located at Kabul airport. This team made contact with approved evacuees and guided them through the crowds to points on the perimeter where they could be brought into the airport secured and safely evacuated.The NZDF deployment concluded its operations out of Kabul airport on 26 August. The US had signalled that the military airlift would conclude by 31 August and that partners would need to depart days earlier than this as the final days would be reserved for the US' withdrawal of its significant numbers of personnel. The threat of terrorist attack was also a factor in the decision to conclude our activities out of Kabul airport when we did as highlighted by the Prime Minister and the Chief of Defence Force in their media stand-up on the matter on Friday 27 August. By that time MFAT had advised people not to come to Kabul airport. Sadly that threat materialised in the early hours of 27 August New Zealand time with the heinous act of terror perpetrated by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province that we witnessed outside the Kabul airport mere hours after the NZDF presence had withdrawn.I want to reiterate the Prime Minister's statements on Friday in relation to this. We condemn this despicable attack on the innocent trying to flee to a better life and on those trying to escort them safely to their flight to freedom. New Zealand's thoughts and aroha are with the families of the civilians and US personnel who sadly lost their lives.It is important to recognise the close cooperation and partnership with our closest defence partners throughout this deployment including the US Australia the UK and Canada. It is clear that without the US' leadership and forces on the ground at the Kabul airport the evacuation would not have been able to occur. The contributions of the UK and Canada were also central.But I must especially recognise the true comradeship and partnership between our NZDF deployment and the Australian Defence Force deployment. We have jointly provided airlift for each other's evacuees supported each other on the ground in Afghanistan and in the UAE and we have benefitted hugely from this cooperation. This deployment has shown that the Anzac spirit is alive and well.I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the stalwart support and hospitality of the UAE Government in permitting the NZDF to operate from the UAE for this deployment. I spoke with my UAE counterpart last week and can confirm the close and meaningful defence relationship we have with the UAE. The military-led evacuation effort from Afghanistan has now concluded. We were not the masters of this time frame and we did all that we could do to evacuate people within the time that we had. We knew this was a risk given the short time frame of the international evacuation and the Prime Minister mentioned this last week. And I know this is a weight that rests heavy on all the agencies who formed part of the truly interagency New Zealand contribution to the Afghanistan international military evacuation. We are not turning our backs on those still in Afghanistan; we will continue to see how we can support those seeking to leave Afghanistan. However that will no longer be a military-led effort which the NZDF will feature so prominently in. It will also be within a much larger international effort that New Zealand will be a part of. Finally I would like to conclude by again acknowledging the bravery and service of our Defence Force personnel who have conducted this deployment under incredibly difficult circumstances. I know that I speak for all New Zealanders when I state how proud I am of what they have achieved and how they have demonstrated the force for good that Aotearoa New Zealand is on the world stage.