Inside changes to veteran status and defence funding ahead of Anzac Day - The Front Page

In 1916, thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers marched through the streets of London to Westminster Abbey for the first commemorative Anzac Day service.

It was 110 years ago when Kiwi soldiers, among others, landed at Gallipoli.

Thousands would die over the eight-month campaign that followed.

Since then, the term Anzac — for Australia New Zealand Army Corps — has symbolised decades of mateship, and the day is observed now by many Pacific nations as well.

The date serves as a time to remember those who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations, but until recently, how we defined ‘veterans’ was quite narrow.

The Government announced it will introduce legislation to recognise more former soldiers, sailors, and aviators as veterans.

Veterans Minister Chris Penk said under the Veterans’ Support Act, the term ‘veteran’ was currently reserved for New Zealand Defence Force personnel who have completed qualifying service, either in deployments where there has been a significant risk of harm, or in routine service before ACC was introduced in 1974.

“While that definition remains appropriate for determining eligibility for support entitlements, it has unfortunately left many who have loyally served our nation feeling excluded, given that they fall outside the current narrow legal scope of the ‘veteran’ definition,” he said.

NZ Herald senior reporter, David Fisher, told The Front Page what constitutes ‘qualifying service’, however, is a little bizarre.

“It’s riddled with inconsistencies. One good example, I think, is that if you were in service and you were deployed to assist with the tsunami that hit Papua New Guinea in 1998, then you are eligible to be called a veteran.

“If you were in service and you were deployed to help with the tsunami in Tonga in 2022, you’re not a veteran — simply because the signature doesn’t exist at the bottom of the right piece of paper.

“Veterans Minister Chris Penk has said that there will be a change so that, under certain conditions, three years of service, for example, you can then be called a veteran. The issue for many in the community is that it’s nice that they’ve had that recognition, but you still need qualifying operational service to be able to access any of the veteran support services that exist,” he said.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

• The change in definition for veterans
• The Returns Services Association (RSA) restructures
• The billions more being spent on defence.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

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