Your excellency the Governor-General, RSA National President, David Cox; National Vice President ¡V Colin Topp, Chief Executive ¡V Pat Herbert, other members of the National Executive Committee, delegates and members of the New Zealand Returned Services' Association and other distinguished guests.

I am honoured to be here today to address you on the occasion of your 85th National Council meeting.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I came to this same venue to address your 84th Council meeting ¡V and I am pleased and proud that substantial progress has been made since then on many of the issues that were raised with me on that occasion.
A little earlier this afternoon the Prime Minister talked about those achievements ¡V they included:

„h New services for the children and families of Vietnam and Operation Grapple Veterans
„h Individual and family counselling services
„h Case management through the Office of Veterans' Affairs ¡V which has been boosted significantly
„h A payment of $30,000 to ex-prisoners of war and civilian internees of Japan
„h Medallic recognition
„h And veterans' to be called veterans' ¡V not beneficiaries.

Many of these issues were raised at last year's RSA conference ¡V and I am pleased that in those 12 short months we have been able to address grievances which in some cases extend back many decades.

At the same time, I have no intention of claiming that we have done everything ¡V that our obligation to our veterans has been discharged. Far from it.

I¡¦d like to comment now on some specific issues, (other than those previously referred to), that have been raised with my office by the RNZRSA.

In doing so I want to acknowledge the professional and dignified manner in which your representatives engage with my office on your behalf ¡V there is no doubt that the productive working relationship has contributed in no small part to the considerable progress made over the last 12 months.

Legislation:
The first issue is a legislative matter that has long been a contentious issue for RSA members. This is the inclusion of the Veterans' Pension in the Social Welfare (Transitional Provisions) Act 1990.

That placement was intended as a transitional measure ¡V but was left in place untouched for the next decade. The RSA has always maintained - quite rightly in my view - that the Veterans' Pension should be placed in the War Pensions Act 1954.

This would deal with the very inappropriate perception that the Veteran's Pension is merely a "social welfare benefit" which does not recognise the unique status of veterans.

The current placement also fails to recognise the common link between Veterans' Pensions and War Pensions in terms of qualifying service. There are distinct benefits to be gained from combining all war-related pensions into the same piece of legislation.

I am pleased to report that legislation to make the required changes is now being drafted, and should be passed before the end of the year.

The same legislation will address the rehabilitation needs of veterans, who are recipients of the Veterans' Pension and who are under the retirement age, and the anomaly where those veterans lose the whole of their pension immediately if they undertake any form of paid work, and in some cases, voluntary work..

Veterans will have a ¡§free zone¡¨ which will enable them to earn up to $80 per week; thereafter various abatements will apply.

The Secretary for War Pensions will also have discretion to waive, where appropriate, the need for a stand-down period and/or the need for a medical examination if veterans reapply for the pension after a period of employment.

Case management:
Improved services will be offered to veterans under case management provided through the Office of Veterans¡¦ Affairs.

Case management will change the focus of the services currently delivered to veterans and will allow for their care to be managed in a way that supports the needs of the veteran and the veteran¡¦s family.

Access to case management will not be restricted to veterans who are currently on a War Disablement Pension. Case Managers will work from within the Office of Veterans' Affairs, and each veteran will be allocated a Case Manager who will plan their care in consultation with the veteran.

The case manager will design an individual care programme with a veteran and access services and support on that veteran¡¦s behalf.

The interventions will not be focused on pension or medical care only. The aim is to provide a holistic approach based on the assessed needs of the veteran and the veteran¡¦s family.

In addition to income support and medical issues, this might involve accessing support to enable the veteran to get back into the workforce, or counselling for the family.

The Office of Veterans' Affairs will also look at commissioning workshops and seminars around issues relating to veterans.
The intention is that there will be a seamless approach to service delivery for veterans.

The War Pensions Central Processing Unit will provide advice on income support and pension entitlements and it will continue to process and pay war pensions.

Medals:
I am sure that medallic recognition has been a topic for debate at almost every RSA conference. I am pleased that in just 18 months we have been able to address many of the grievances that date back up to five decades.

In addition to the measures announced by the Prime Minister earlier this afternoon, around 500 medals have been issued since I spoke to you last year, in settlement of other longstanding grievances.

I want to acknowledge the on-going cooperative work between the New Zealand Defence Force and the Royal NZ RSA on progressing Medallic Recognition issues. It is that spirit of cooperation that has enabled us to make the progress that we have made.

International Cooperation:
As Minister of Veterans¡¦ Affairs I am very aware of the diversity of issues facing veterans today. By international standards, we have only a small number of veterans and this in turns inhibits the quality of any studies or research that is commissioned in New Zealand.

In the past year, a strong working relationship has been forged with the Department of Veterans¡¦ Affairs in Australia and indeed at ministerial level with my Australian counterpart.

I am pleased to be able to advise you that next week the Director of Veterans Affairs will attend the inaugural meeting of a senior international forum on veterans' issues.

Membership of that forum will not only facilitate our access to the latest international strategies and research on veterans¡¦ issues but, more importantly, it is recognition of New Zealand veterans as valued partners of the international veteran community.

Status of Office of Veterans¡¦ Affairs:
I am mindful of the RNZRSA¡¦s position in terms of the Office of Veterans¡¦ Affairs becoming its own department.

As it now stands, the Office of Veterans¡¦ Affairs is a stand alone portfolio. There is, of course, some economy of scale in being attached to the New Zealand Defence Force in that the Office is able to utilise resources to the benefit of the veterans.

That aside, I am pleased to report that the changes that are under way in terms of improving the services to veterans will result in Veterans¡¦ Affairs being more autonomous, and accordingly, the most appropriate long term structure will be kept under review.

Service Cemeteries

I am aware that one of your Conference remits ¡V Remit 11 ¡V deals with the issue of eligibility for burial in Services' cemeteries.

Specifically, the remit is concerned with the current in-eligibility of New Zealand personnel who served in Korea after the Armistice was signed on 27 July 1953 ¡V service which continued for another 4 years.

I am very pleased to announce here today that this long-standing anomaly has been corrected.

As acting Minister of Internal Affairs, with responsibility for War Service Cemeteries, I consulted with the Minister of Defence - and agreed that all ex-service personnel who served as part of the peacekeeping force in Korea from 28 July 1953 to 27 July 1957, should now be eligible for burial in a Services' cemetery.

The change will be immediately gazetted.

To conclude ¡V I would like to again acknowledge the special debt that this country owes to its service men and women, who have to act as directed to meet the interests of the country and its citizens.

As I acknowledged last year, the nature of military service places a special obligation on governments to safeguard the wellbeing of service personnel.

Part of our meeting that debt lies in our willingness and commitment to support our veterans and to ensure that veterans¡¦ receive the entitlements due to them.
This government came to office believing that greater recognition of veterans' issues, and improved service support for veterans' was well overdue ¡V and I think the actions we've taken in just 18 months irrefutably demonstrate our commitment to doing something about these issues.

I give you my promise that I, as Minister of Veterans' Affairs, will continue to work with the Royal New Zealand Returned Services Association and other veterans' associations to ensure that this country honours those people who have taken part in deployments on our behalf.

Thank you again for the opportunity and privilege to address you today. I look forward to talking with some of you further when the formal speeches are concluded.