Lee Melissa: Veterans’ Support Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: Veterans’ Support Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 10 April 2014. Volume:697;Page:17169. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MELISSA LEE (National):Ahn yung ha se yo. It is a great pleasure to rise to support the second reading of the Veterans’ Support Bill. Before I get on with my contribution I would just like to make a comment. It is lovely to see the passion in Mr Goff’s speech. We have seen that in the Social Services Committee and in the House. I just wish he had been as passionate when he was responsible for the Treasury benches when Labour was in the position of Government—in the 9 years that it was in Government. Now that he is in Opposition he basically says passionately: “Why does this National Government not do something about it?”. He had the opportunity; he was actually the Minister of Defence. He could have really done something about it but he did not. Now that he is in Opposition he can throw stones.The men and women who serve in our defence forces now and in the past for freedom and democracy need to be recognised for the sacrifices that they have made. I am a recipient of those sacrifices. Having met lots of Korean veterans who have come back from the war—there were people who were injured and there were people who died during the Korean War—and being born in Korea I grew up with the knowledge that we must be grateful for the ultimate sacrifices of the veterans who actually paid with their lives in a war that divided my birth country. We owe a great debt to our veterans and this National-led Government is committed to honouring their service and better meeting the needs of older veterans who need help to maintain their homes and of veterans of modern-day deployments.This bill has many of the same provisions as the current Act. The criteria for service eligibility will stay the same as will health care treatment. Accepted conditions will continue to be funded. No veteran will have their entitlements reduced; in fact thousands will benefit from increased care and support. That has to be better. It has been quite a process to rewrite a 60-year-old Act an Act that was designed to deal with the physical risk associated with deployment but did not actually cover the psychological and environmental risks that veterans have faced. The Law Commission’s findings after reviewing the Act stated that the Act was outdated and unwieldy and no longer fitted the needs of the veterans it served. This Veterans’ Support Bill actually fixes that.There are two schemes. Scheme One comes into force on 1 July this year and runs until 1 July 2015 to cover all veterans as a transitional measure. After that Scheme One will apply to veterans with service from World War II to the Viet Nam War. The entitlements will be based on what is already available with some improvements such as when a veteran is under the age of retirement and unable work they will receive a higher rate of income compensation than is now available. The rate paid will be based on 80 percent of the average wage an increase of about $200 gross for most of the recipients. Scheme Two covers veterans with service since 1974 when ACC was introduced and comes into force on July 1 next year. In 2015 there will also be changes to the eligibility criteria for accessing support services such as home help and lawnmowing.This is a bill that the select committee considered very carefully. I do understand the passion behind Mr Goff’s speech and most of us in some way understand where that passion comes from because we do all support the veterans who have paid greatly through their service in service of their country and people. We appreciate their participation in battles overseas with the New Zealand flag on their chests serving our nation proudly. This is a great improvement on the 1954 Act which is totally outdated. It is a great improvement and I believe it is something that the veterans have been waiting for. Thank you.