May 24, 2018
Wider needs of veterans recognised
Defence Minister Ron Mark has unveiled a new strategy for rehabilitating veterans who have been injured or become ill through their service to their country.
The strategy was developed by Veterans’ Affairs in consultation with veteran support groups, government departments, and non-government agencies.
Mr Mark says the emphasis is on helping people to recover, rather than just marking their service with pensions.
The strategy is underpinned by the principles that veterans matter, the health and well being of family and wider whanau matters and rehabilitation must take into account not just physical needs but their psychological, spiritual and cultural needs.
There are about 41,000 veterans, including about 11,000 who fought in Vietnam and earlier conflicts.
"Since Vietnam we've have Bosnia, we've had Kosovo, we've had Timor, we've had Solomons, we've had Sierra Leone, we've had Sudan, we've had the MFO, we've had UNIFIL, we've had Iraq, we've had Afghanistan. We've been in Afghanistan coming up 17 years. That's three times longer than we were in the Second World War," Mr Mark says.
Unlike other countries New Zealand only defines a former service person as a veteran if they served overseas in certain roles, and that may have to be looked at in future.
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