Ministerial Statements

Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this

I wish to make a ministerial statement under Standing Order 348 in relation to the Crown apology to Viet Nam veterans and their families. Given the nature of this statement it may run a little over the 5-minute allocation, and I trust this will have the understanding of the House.

Today the Crown formally acknowledges the dedicated service of the New Zealand Regular Force personnel deployed during the Viet Nam War and of the many servicemen and women who supported them in their mission. Further, the Crown records that those armed forces personnel loyally served at the direction of the New Zealand Government of the day, having left their home shores against a background of unprecedented division and controversy over whether New Zealand should participate in the war. The Crown extends to New Zealand Viet Nam veterans and their families an apology for the manner in which their loyal service in the name of New Zealand was not recognised as it should have been, when it should have been, and for the inadequate support extended to them and their families after their return home from the conflict.

The Viet Nam War was the defining event in New Zealand’s recent history, and one during which significant divisions and tensions emerged within our society. Old allegiances and alliances were tested, and New Zealanders began to question the role their country was playing in global affairs. On all sides strong views were held with conviction. My own party, the New Zealand Labour Party, opposed New Zealand’s involvement in the war and acted immediately to withdraw the troops on election to office in 1972. Many others also spoke out, often coming under attack from the Government and other establishment voices at the time for doing so. Viet Nam itself suffered huge damage from the war—to its people, its cities and ports, and its countryside. The consequences thereto have been long term and intergenerational. Today we count Viet Nam as an Asia-Pacific partner and we welcome its leaders to our shores.

Today’s focus, however, is on those who served, regardless of what our personal views on the decision to send them were. It is time for reconciliation. The Crown is placing on record its respect for the service of the nearly 3,400 New Zealanders who served in Viet Nam during the war between June 1964 and December 1972. We honour the 37 personnel who died on active duty, the 187 who were wounded, some very seriously, and all those who have suffered long-term effects. The service of those who fell and of all who served in that conflict should now be honoured alongside that of other brave service personnel deployed to other conflicts in the service of our country.

For too long successive Governments ignored concerns being raised by Viet Nam veterans. It was the emergence of Agent Orange as a serious health and veterans’ issue in the United States that began to change the way in which issues surrounding Viet Nam veterans came to be perceived and then treated in New Zealand. In 2003 the Health Committee undertook its own inquiry into the concerns raised by veterans. It investigated whether New Zealand defence personnel had been exposed to Agent Orange. It also assessed the health risks to defence personnel and their families, and the health services available to them. The committee concluded that New Zealand personnel who had served in Viet Nam had indeed been exposed to Agent Orange, and that this exposure had had adverse health effects not only for the personnel themselves but also for their children.

A joint working group on the concerns of Viet Nam veterans was established in July 2005, under the chairmanship of the former State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham. The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association and the Ex-Vietnam Services Association participated in the group. In their report of April 2006 the joint working group proposed that the Crown apologise formally to veterans and their families for the history of pain and suffering experienced by many of them. That recommendation was accepted as part of a wider package of measures proposed under the themes of acknowledging the past, putting things right, and improving services to Viet Nam veterans. A range of steps under each of those headings was agreed to.

Today the Crown has offered a formal apology to the New Zealand veterans of the Viet Nam War and their families. The Crown places on record its recognition of the service of those personnel and acknowledges the many consequences of that service, including the physical and mental health effects. The failure of successive Governments and their agencies to acknowledge the exposure of veterans to dioxin-contaminated herbicides and other chemicals is itself acknowledged, as is the way in which that failure exacerbated the suffering of veterans and families. The recommendation of the joint working group report that the earlier Reeves and McLeod reports should no longer form the basis of policies towards Viet Nam veterans and their families is accepted by the Crown. Finally, there is the commitment to put things right where Government action is the appropriate means of achieving that resolution. The commitments the Crown has made to the treatment of Viet Nam veterans who were affected by toxic environments in Viet Nam and to their families are set out in the memorandum of understanding of 6 December 2006, and the Crown will adhere to them.

In concluding, the Crown thanks the members of the joint working group who provided a way forward for dealing with these troubling issues of New Zealand’s relatively recent past. This has led to the opportunity for the Crown to put on record its thanks for and its apology to those brave service personnel who became the veterans of the Viet Nam War, and to pay tribute to those who never came home. We will remember them.

JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this

I rise today to support the apology from the Crown, and to offer the gratitude and thanks of the National Party to those New Zealanders who served in the then Republic of Viet Nam. I also offer our apologies to them and their families for the failure of the Crown to properly acknowledge or address the results of their service in a toxic environment in Viet Nam.

Over the 8 years of involvement of the New Zealand force, nearly 3,260 New Zealanders served in Viet Nam. Some 37 were killed in action, and nearly 200 were wounded. At the height of New Zealand’s involvement in the war, in 1968, 540 New Zealand troops were deployed. New Zealand has not treated those veterans well. The service they carried out in the name of this country has often gone unacknowledged or has been conveniently forgotten. At times, some people have shown outright hostility towards them. More often, the personal legacies of their service, for both them and their families, have been ignored or denied. They have had to suffer the indignity of two reports—the Reeves report and the McLeod report—both of which reached conclusions that all veterans knew to be wrong. These reports were factually incorrect, fatally flawed, and deeply offensive to many veterans. I wish to state for the record that National rejects those reports as a basis for policy making now or in the future.

In 2004 Parliament’s Health Committee finally acknowledged what had long been denied, which was that New Zealand service personnel serving in Viet Nam had been exposed to a toxic environment, and that toxic environment had had a detrimental effect on the health of those veterans and on the health of their children. I would like to acknowledge the role that my colleague Judith Collins played in pushing for that select committee inquiry.

I also wish to acknowledge the role that John Masters played in our reaching the point we are at today. John was the last commander of 161 Battery in Viet Nam, and it was his perseverance and, finally, the map he produced that proved that New Zealand service personnel had been exposed to defoliants in Phuoc-Tuy Province. Without his hard work, the findings of the inquiry would not have happened. Today, as a direct result of that inquiry, veterans and their families are here to receive a formal apology for their mistreatment.

But they are also here to remember and commemorate New Zealand’s role in a difficult war, and to allow us as a country to finally say thank you to those who served when called upon. It is also a time for us to remember the 37 New Zealanders who died in the service of their country in Viet Nam, and the 600 or so service personnel who have passed away in the intervening years. Viet Nam was a war that divided New Zealand, and the period was one of bitter sentiment from some towards those who served. But the New Zealanders who were asked to serve in this war were not responsible for the decisions taken by politicians at the time, and they should not have been treated as though they were.

So to the members of Victor and Whiskey Companies of the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, to 4 Troop, New Zealand Special Air Service, to the members of the New Zealand joint services medical team, to 161 Battery, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery, to the Royal New Zealand Engineers, and to those other New Zealand service personnel who served attached to units of the Australian and United States military, we finally say sorry. New Zealand had a responsibility to these people. They were asked by their country to do a dangerous job, and they did so with honour and dignity. The treatment they received both in Viet Nam and in the years after their return to New Zealand was unfair and unacceptable. I hope that this apology and the acceptance, finally, that New Zealanders were exposed to Agent Orange in Viet Nam will go some way towards making up for our previous failings.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) Link to this

New Zealand First supports the Crown apology to Viet Nam veterans, and endorses the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister and Mr Key. We have long believed in well-overdue measures being adopted to address the serious problems suffered by veterans and their families. It is wisely said that the military do not start wars—politicians do. These men were sent to Viet Nam by politicians. They did their duty; when they returned, their country did not do its duty by them. Today is not a time for recriminations, but we must acknowledge that the official treatment of these soldiers has been a blot on our history. So have been the unconscionable and protracted denials by successive Governments of the effect of Agent Orange on soldiers and their families.

It is a tragedy that so many soldiers who died then, and since, will never hear this apology. We cannot change the past, but we can acknowledge it and try to put things right as best we can. The apology today is a step towards that. We hope that it is accepted in the spirit with which we unreservedly offer it.

KEITH LOCKE (Green) Link to this

The Greens are very pleased to support the Crown apology. Four years ago the Green Party called on the Government to offer a full public apology to Viet Nam veterans and their families for the failure of successive administrations to accept their exposure to Agent Orange or to provide adequate treatment for the illnesses that they and their children have suffered as a result. It has taken 4 long years, but at last today the apology has been made and we are thankful for that. The Green Party is delighted at this development and we congratulate the Prime Minister on making it.

The reality is that in the face of mounting evidence, successive Governments downplayed and even covered up the fact that veterans who fought in the Viet Nam War had been exposed to a toxic environment and the health effects they experienced as a result of their exposure to Agent Orange. Nor did successive Governments take steps to monitor the health of veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange. The apology today will help redress the hurt and suffering of veterans and their families over all these years.

However, the Green Party calls on the Government to back up its apology with a programme to provide ongoing monitoring of dioxin exposure for veterans and their children, and to offer fully funded medical care for affected children. This apology is part of a necessary process of healing and reconciliation. It parallels an international process of reconciliation where some veterans have travelled to Viet Nam to talk in friendship with those who were once on what was called the other side. Viet Nam veterans who are Agent Orange victims from America, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, and Canada have travelled back to Viet Nam where they have met with victims and visited hospices in friendship villages, where some of the many thousands of the most seriously deformed Agent Orange children are cared for, assisted by international veteran support, the Catholic Church, or local government.

Of course, all of these efforts do not absolve the United States Government—the main responsible party—or the other Governments that invaded Viet Nam, including New Zealand, from their moral responsibility to contribute to the health and welfare of all those who suffered as a consequence of the war, whatever their nationality. Today we are acknowledging the suffering of our Viet Nam veterans and what they went through and still go through today. In apologising, we acknowledge the mistakes of the past. We should also make a commitment to future generations not to repeat such mistakes. It is also an opportunity to recognise what a disastrous war it was for all, particularly, of course, the Viet Namese people, and for us to all look forward to a peaceful future.

Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Māori Party) Link to this

The Māori Party endorses the apologies of the Crown in this House today. New Zealand military history tells us that between 1964 and 1972 over 3,000 New Zealanders served in South Viet Nam. For those who served for their loved ones, their children, and those to come, it remains the defining point in their lives. Sixty-five percent of those who served were tangata whenua. One of them was our brother. I stand here today in pain and deep sadness, thinking of those who volunteered to serve our country, driven by duty and honour. They went where their Government sent them, but they returned to the hostility and controversy of a country in crisis, a country divided.

And what does that do to the soul of a soldier, to serve on combat lines in a battle that some suggest killed up to two million civilians—civilians who were innocent bystanders to the campaign from Washington to stamp out communism; civilians who were the collateral damage of what the people called the American war? The American war was a genocidal assault on the people of Viet Nam, leaving behind a legacy of genetically deformed children—an attack that has gone on for decades in the haunting impact of trans-generational birth defects—human beings cruelly deformed by the carnage of chemical destruction.

And what does it do to the soul of a soldier to bear witness to the crime of military chemical spraying, then to return home and be told to never again be seen in public wearing the uniform that reminds us of our shame?

Other generations of war veterans returned home to a hero’s welcome. The veterans of Viet Nam were hassled by customs officers. Others recall being smuggled back in the deep of the night, hidden from view, covered up, and invisible. They were refused full entry to the Returned Services Association and instructed not to wear their medals of service.

There were other insidious effects. One veteran, Bruce Isbister, told the Agent Orange Joint Working Group on Concerns of Viet Nam Veterans that their earning capacity had been taken from them by their service to their country—consigned to an income akin to the poverty line, and exacerbated by blatant discrimination. The pain of those who served in this American war is visible in the frantic website traffic of survivors. One veteran summed it up: “Don’t treat me like crap and then think you can come back 40 years later and say sorry, because it doesn’t work like that.” But say sorry, we must; and it is not just say sorry but be sorry, so the world can see from our actions that we mean what we say.

Last year Viet Nam veterans marched on Parliament in protest against what they described as the Crown’s consistent and despicable rejection of Viet Nam veterans’ health and welfare concerns. Wai 1401 was lodged by the late Archbishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, representing about 2,000 Māori Viet Nam veterans and their families, and we think of those for whom the torch of injustice still burns furiously. We are in awe of their commitment, their courage, and their passion for the truth to be told. The Waitangi claim described the torturous impact of the enemy’s bullets in Viet Nam, and what Vercoe describes as a human and environmental catastrophe. We must say sorry for sending our soldiers to a war that is still leaving its trail of destruction in cancer-related deaths, genetically damaged births, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the social impact so often manifested in chronic alcoholism, violence, and the mental anguish that veterans faced on their return.

I read the words of one other veteran, who said: “All I want to do is to forget a period of my life that almost drove me crazy, and they won’t let me forget.” As hurtful as it is, we must not forget the partners who miscarried, the stillbirths, the health-related problems still seen in their grandchildren, and we must not forget the disgrace of successive Governments that denied that our soldiers were exposed to the toxin, and the shock that veterans felt over the Reeves inquiry or the McLeod report, reports for which the terms of reference ensured that justice would not be found—such is the nature of political denials.

We must not forget what the American war did to the Viet Nam people—to their people, their whenua, and their whakapapa. I was thinking about the actions of Prime Ministers of Japan who apologised to China for their actions during World War II—once in 1995 and then again in 2005. I think we need to have the courage to offer our apology to the people of Viet Nam. It was a National Government that involved our soldiers, and today we are really thankful that it was the actions of a Labour Government that brought them back, and today offer the apology to these people. So to you Viet Nam veterans, tēnā koutou, ngā rangatira mōrehu. Kia ora.

Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) Link to this

United Future joins with others in this Crown apology to the Viet Nam veterans this afternoon. As we do so we recall the fact that although the New Zealand forces were withdrawn from South Viet Nam in December 1972, the veterans have had to endure a living hell in every sense since that time, in terms of their own rehabilitation into New Zealand society, their health and employment issues, their family issues, and the way in which they were treated by the wider community at the time. If Korea was the forgotten war, then Viet Nam was surely the despised war, and those who fought in it, for the noblest of motives at the time, have suffered consequently ever since. I think today’s apology brings to an end a shameful chapter in our nation’s history in that respect.

Like many of my generation, I was an active anti-war protester from the age of 15, but I still recall with some sadness and horror being in Auckland in May 1971, when a detachment of New Zealand forces came home from Viet Nam and was marching through central Auckland, only to be splattered with red paint and to experience other insults from the crowd that was gathered. And even though I was morally on the side of the crowd’s cause, I was horrified that we could treat those who were serving our nation in that way. I think that over the years the type of horrific experience that those returning soldiers experienced then became, unfortunately, the norm for the way society treated them. Those soldiers, and other personnel, were doing their duty at the behest of the New Zealand Government of the day, and it was wrong that they as individuals bore the criticism and the contempt that should have been reserved for those who made the political decisions.

Although today’s apology will come too late for many of the veterans, it is a necessary step and it is one that is long overdue. We support the call now for recognition that New Zealand forces and personnel were exposed to Agent Orange and other defoliants, contrary to some of the advice received over the years, and we look forward to there being a favourable settlement in their regard.

I want to make one other brief observation. Some good has come out of this, in a small way. The shocking way in which our nation treated those who fought in the Viet Nam conflict has, I think, served as some sort of national wake-up call regarding equally unpopular involvements such as those in Iraq and in Afghanistan and the way we now reflect upon those who have represented us in those conflicts. We have matured as a nation, and we will never treat good New Zealand service personnel doing their duty on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand in the way we treated those who came home from Viet Nam. Although that may be some ongoing consolation to the Viet Nam veterans, it will never remove the appalling blight of the way in which we treated them.

Today’s apology is one way—one small, but significant way—in which this Parliament and this country can attempt to put right those wrongs, and can attempt to say to those who served that their service is up there with that of all those others commemorated in this Chamber, and that they and their families can rightfully, justifiably, and properly hold their heads high and walk with honour amongst us. They did a job well on behalf of their country, and they stood up for our national ideals and objectives of that time. That is why this apology is so vital today.

HEATHER ROY (Deputy Leader—ACT) Link to this

The ACT party supports this apology to Viet Nam veterans, alongside all other political parties in this House. Our Viet Nam veterans served with as much heroism and distinction as did the veterans of all other wars, yet they flew home under cover of darkness so that their return would not become the focus of demonstrations. That these men, and a small number of women, have endured great privation in the service of their country never seems to have entered the national consciousness, despite the 37 fatalities and 187 wounded.

Our veterans have many reasons to be proud. New Zealand’s contribution included a large humanitarian component, but when our forces went into action they did so with great bravery. Our force was unusual in being entirely voluntary. During the Viet Nam War the Anzac spirit was reignited, as a combined Australia - New Zealand battalion was formed. At the Battle of Long Tan, for example, Australian infantry, supported by New Zealand artillery, distinguished themselves during an engagement with a much larger enemy force. Some of our troops also served with other allied forces in theatres of war, particularly the United States.

We should not forget the breadth of the contribution made by New Zealanders in Viet Nam. This contribution included members of the New Zealand Navy, all corps and regiments of the New Zealand Army, the New Zealand Air Force, as well as many civilians. Although much has been done regarding medallic recognition of campaign service for these groups, the matter of approval of foreign awards for individual acts of gallantry is yet to be resolved.

Our returning soldiers should at least have been treated with respect. They served with bravery and professionalism, and they had a proud record of assistance to civilians. Yet on their return they were not treated with the respect that those serving their country are entitled to. Although it was a Government decision to send troops to Viet Nam, it was the troops themselves who frequently bore the brunt of public anger and antagonism. This was both unfortunate and undeserved. There were further consequences for other military personnel at the time, such as the decision for Defence Force personnel in Wellington to wear civilian clothes rather than their uniforms, in order to avoid confrontation.

Servicemen and servicewomen judge operations not only in terms of success or failure but in terms of lessons learnt. What have we as a country learnt? An apology today is important in terms of the recognition of an injustice, but daily actions are the measure of real intent. Parliament has work to do yet to ensure that no veterans of a future conflict will ever find themselves in the circumstances that these servicemen, servicewomen, and families found themselves. We need to change the many statutes that determine entitlements and protections for any citizen serving his or her country.

This weekend’s Tribute 08 programme is a long overdue acknowledgment and recognition of the sacrifices made by those who participated in the Viet Nam War wearing the New Zealand uniform. My own small but longstanding tribute to these fine New Zealanders has been to donate all that I have earned, and will earn, as a territorial force soldier to an RSA-approved charity, the Tasman Fund. The proceeds will go mainly to Viet Nam veterans and their families. I chose this charity because these veterans were, in my opinion, the most unappreciated in our history.

Few have said it better than singer-songwriter Eric Bogle:

Hon JIM ANDERTON (Leader—Progressive) Link to this

In supporting the Prime Minister’s statement, and in speaking as leader of the Progressive party, may I say that as one gets older it is increasingly possible to see and participate in examples where history offers the prospect of learning lessons in the hope that things might be done better in the future. Today is one such example. The purpose of this very public statement in the House is to increase the chances of learning—as a country, as a Government, as armed forces, and as families. I believe that lessons have been well learnt, and that when push comes to deployment it is supported on all sides of this House. For today’s purposes, the risks include the fact that it will be difficult to address properly any resulting problems, including those of a health or welfare nature, that emerge from deployments like this. So we find ourselves in the House today, decades down the track, at last coming to terms with the deployment of our troops to Viet Nam. We have focused on two key questions: what did this mean to those who served and to their families, and how did the various authorities respond to the evidence of problems associated with that service?

Today we pay tribute to those who served, and I thank them for doing their duty as they saw it, even though I, personally, with others, criticised the foreign policy decisions to send them there. I pay tribute to those who have fought more domestic battles since, to rehabilitate veterans both in medical and health terms and before the public and Government of New Zealand.

I pay particular tribute to one of those soldiers whom I have got to know well in Christchurch: John Masters, who served as a major in Viet Nam and retired as a colonel. I acknowledge that it was his personal copies of operational maps, kept for over 30 years, that completely destroyed the misconception that New Zealanders had not been exposed to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. I also acknowledge not only John’s service to Viet Nam but his service for decades for the welfare of all veterans, especially those at his beloved Rannerdale Home in Christchurch. I acknowledge him as an exceptional human being—straight, decent, and concerned for others. John, I know that you are unwell at the moment, but if you are listening I want you to hear the following words clearly stated in Parliament, even if I am at risk of repeating what the Prime Minister and others have said this afternoon: it was wrong for authorities at all levels not to have dealt appropriately with the issue of exposure to Agent Orange. I am sorry that this issue was not better dealt with by successive Governments and authorities over nearly 4 decades. I am sorry that our armed servicemen and servicewomen, who served in good faith, have suffered physically, psychologically, and socially.

It is time to come home, learning the lessons and rebuilding the trust and confidence that is at the heart of the New Zealand spirit. There are simple matters here that go to the heart not only of good government but also of being a good New Zealander—acknowledging problems, saying sorry, and trying to fix those problems. That is exactly what we are doing today.

Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this

I would like to thank all party leaders for the contributions they have made on behalf of their parties today, and for their support for the Crown apology. I think that everyone listening today will know how rare it is to have unanimity in our Parliament, but unanimity today is evidence that we do have the capacity to rise above the day-to-day political friction in the public interest, and that has been done through this offer of the Crown apology.

The contributions today have also revealed the great depth of feeling that this deployment and its aftermath evoke. That is why reconciliation is so important. The men and women who went did their duty, and every party in this House has expressed its respect for that.

To the veterans and their families who have filled our gallery in Parliament today, I say thank you for dignifying this occasion. This weekend many of these people will be staying on here in Wellington to gather for Tribute 08. It will be a time for meeting friends and comrades, for reflecting on the past, for remembering the fallen, and for looking to the future. May the spirit of reconciliation be present throughout Tribute 08 as it has been throughout this reflection in our Parliament today.