Honouring our war veterans
Two weeks ago I was honoured to farewell a group of 24 New Zealand veterans on their way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein in Egypt.
This was a brutal battle and turned out to be a major turning point in World War II. 76,000 New Zealanders served with 2,989 losing their lives.
The delegation are aged in their late 80s and 90s and were in good spirits. It was good to meet Otaki veteran Mr Dudley (Wilky) Wilkinson, who is still actively farming at the age of 91.
Mr Wilkinson served as a Sapper in New Zealand Field Engineers, and carried out dangerous jobs like bomb disposal and clearing mines and booby traps. He had several near misses and was severely wounded near the end of the war.
It was moving to meet these guys and hear their stories, and how many of them want to pay tribute to their friends and comrades who never came home. Three of the veterans on this trip lost a brother during the campaign, so this will have been a special event for them.
It is important that we remember those who sacrificed their lives for our country, and pay tribute to these veterans who have helped shape our nation.
This week I was proud to pick up a shovel and help turn the first sod at the National War Memorial in Wellington, which is beginning a major upgrade. State Highway 1 will be put underground to create a new Memorial Park in time for the centenary of the Gallipoli Landings in 2015.
As the Minister of Veterans I was also proud to announce recently a $60 million package to improve the way we look after veterans of all conflicts.
We are increasing the War Disablement Pension by 5% plus an increase of around 1.8% for the price of living, and increasing access to home help services for veterans.
This is a major piece of work and new legislation will be introduced to Parliament to rewrite the outdated 1954 law.
I’m proud of this comprehensive package. It honours the sacrifice and commitment of brave men and women, like Mr Wilkinson, who have served our country.
There are still more than 500 eligible homes, and I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of this generous scheme before it ends in March next year.
On top of all this, I also spent two days last week travelling around the country meeting with people involved in the racing industry, in my role as Minister of Racing. This is a very important industry for New Zealand with earnings of around $1.6 billion and employing around 17,000 people.