NZ COVENANT/KAWENATA
You will be aware of the work undertaken by the Veterans Advisory Board [VAB] before 2020 and the resultant survey of a cross-section of New Zealanders who answered the VAB questionnaire – How do the Public of New Zealand wish to recognise their military personnel? Well, 2020 is a lifetime away and we have been waiting with bated breath for the Minister for Veterans to establish a New Zealand Covenant/Kawenata. In fact, we all thought the VAB were charged with assessing/reviewing other Five Eyes Nations’ Covenants to develop a Covenant/Kawenata which would meet New Zealand’s Military needs.
How wrong we were! Today we received a letter from the Minister of Veterans Affairs which is copied below for your information. This is a debacle. Three years have passed, and we are still no closer to a Covenant/Kawenata. I would urge you to start a conversation with your Members of Parliament of any political persuasion to raise this matter and to get the Government off their backside and do something for New Zealand Veterans.
The Minister for Veterans early reply is acknowledged. However, the reason for not making any discernible progress with the possibility of a Military Covenant/Kawenata for New Zealand is extraordinary. It is indeed sensible to involve the new Minister of Defence [ Hon Andrew Little] in any work required to take it forward. What exercises the mind and is difficult to understand is why the Minister for Veterans did not ask the former Minister for Defence [ Hon Peeni Henare] for his help/input as he held the Defence portfolio from October 2020 to 31 January 2023 incl. Note that the former Minister of Defence start date is the same as the Minister for Veterans.
Readers can fill in the BLANKS! HAPPY EASTER!