Govt rights a wrong to families
The Government is reversing its decision to refuse military repatriation, making a promise to families of soldiers who died overseas it would fund their journey home for re-burial.
Any service personnel or dependant of service personnel buried in Malaysia or Singapore from January 1, 1955 to January 1, 1971 could be repatriated back to New Zealand, if their families requested it.
Veteran’s Affairs Minister David Bennett said the Government was sorry to those families, for an ‘‘inconsistent’’ policy and it was now trying to ‘‘right the wrong’’.
But he would not be drawn on why the change had occurred now, given the families of the soldiers had been fighting to have their loved ones brought home for the better part of 50 years.
“New Zealand had an inconsistent policy of repatriation between 1955 and 1971. Families could opt to meet repatriation costs themselves, but not all could afford to do so. Other civil servants were also repatriated. We want to restore fairness for those families affected.”
The Defence Force would also look at extending the offer to the families of New Zealanders buried between 1955 and 1971 in American Samoa, Australia, Fiji, Korea, and the United Kingdom. All countries potentially involved had been contacted, Bennett said.
If families chose not to repatriate, the graves would continue to be cared for under a range of agreements New Zealand held with those countries.
The Defence Force would manage the project, and consult with affected families about whether they wanted to bring their relative home.
Vice Chief of Defence Air Vicemarshal Kevin Short said families needed to make sure their contact details were registered with the Defence Force.
‘‘The decision whether or not to repatriate lies with the families and we want to make sure we have their correct details before we begin the consultation process.
‘‘For some families the decision will be difficult and there may be differing views within the family. We will support all families as they work through the options of repatriation,’’ he said.
The Defence Force would establish a project team this year to begin scoping and planning the repatriation.
It would take time, Short said, ‘‘but we must get this right to properly honour and acknowledge the service and sacrifice of our military personnel and their families’’.
The change of heart comes after previous minister Craig Foss asked the Veterans’ Advisory Board to review New Zealand’s policy on repatriation. But his move came after months of pressure, and Foss saying in May last year that the Government had ‘‘no plans’’ to change the policy.
The policy between 1899 and 1955 was to bury service personnel who died overseas close to where they died and not be repatriated to New Zealand – it was adhered to without exception.
The policy changed in 1955, to allow families to repatriate service personnel who died overseas for burial at home, at their own expense. It changed again in 1971, when the Government offered repatriation at public expense to all service personnel and their dependents who died while serving overseas from that point.
Those changes created ‘‘inconsistencies’’, Bennett said, and left the bodies of 100 military personnel overseas, when the families of those who had died more recently were able to bring their loved ones home.
The Government has announced $750,000 to begin planning, and further funds would be given to NZDF once it had completed consultations.