The remains of 27 New Zealand soldiers and one New Zealand child buried in Singapore and Malaysia decades ago will come home next year.
The NZ Defence Force appeared before the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee this morning to update them on the repatriation process, which was triggered by a petition on behalf of the group Families of the Forgotten Fallen.
The petition, from former soldiers Paul Thomas and Andrew Peters, called on the Government to bring home the bodies of the fallen New Zealand soldiers and their children, who were buried in non-Commonwealth war cemeteries.
In March this year, Cabinet under the previous Government changed the policy on repatriation and decided to put $10 million towards the repatriation.
Vice-Chief of Defence Force Air Vice-Marshal Kevin Short told the committee 25 Army and two Air Force personnel and one child would be coming home next year in July, August or September. Five families had decided not to repatriate.