MP demands speedier Agent Orange action

Two more Vietnam veterans' deaths show the need for the Government to honour its Agent Orange obligations quickly, Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell says.

But the Government is consulting on the issue and says veterans would be unhappy if the process was not followed.

Mr Flavell, Waiariki MP, said it was "appalling" that a year after a report into Agent Orange was released the Government had not yet "honoured" veterans who suffered from exposure to the defoliant.

He was commenting after the deaths of two Vietnam veterans, Lieutenant Colonel John Hall and Major John Booth, whose death notice included reference to a "battle with the effects of exposure to Agent Orange".

A working group looking at the effects of Agent Orange is holding meetings at RSAs.

- NZPA