Introduction
Background
In 2007 the Government tasked the Law Commission with reviewing the War Pensions Act 1954 with the intent to bring new legislation before Parliament in 2009. This began a comprehensive review of the legislation which included consultation with relevant organisations such as the Returned and Services Association (RSA), and other Commonwealth nations such as Australian, Canada, and UK.
In July, 2008, the Law Commission published Toward a New Veterans’ Entitlements Scheme: A Discussion Paper on a Review of the War Pensions Act 1954. The paper set forward possible approaches to a new system of veterans’ entitlements and invited any individual or organisation to provide feedback on the document, and the 94 specific questions that were contained within it.
NZDF Consultation
Realising the significance of the opportunity to shape legislation that would affect the future of all NZDF members, CDF directed Personnel Branch to collect the views of currently serving members regarding the issues and questions set forth in the discussion paper.
The War Pensions Review Project Team initiated a consultation process which solicited information from three distinct groups:
- Subject Matter Experts from Legal, Medical, Veterans Affairs and Risk Management
- Command views from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Joint Force Headquarters
- Direct engagement with serving personnel, through focus groups and an online survey
The NZDF’s consolidated response to the Law Commission’s discussion paper was submitted to the Ministers of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs by CDF on 19 December 2008. On 10 March 2009, the NZDF’s response was approved by the Ministers and sent to the Law Commission for official consideration.
This Document
The War Pension Review Project Team hosted twenty focus groups throughout NZDF’s camps and bases between 30 October and 24 November 2008. Over 240 currently serving personnel participated. The Project Officers aimed to ask each focus group the same questions, but allowed the direction of the discussions, as well as the interest that participants had in each issue, determine how many questions, and which questions were asked. Consequently, not all focus groups addressed all questions.
The following pages provide a snapshot of the responses provided by focus group participants. Each question provides notes from 2—6 focus groups that present the best range of ideas, views and opinions. Comments are paraphrased; each bullet represents one comment. To protect the privacy of participants, the focus groups are simply labelled by numbers that have no bearing on the location or identity of participants.
The views and opinions expressed in this document are that of the individual, and not representative of the official views of the New Zealand Defence Force. The information gathered through the focus groups informed NZDF’s response to the Law Commission, but did not entirely determine it. Rather, it served as one of many sources that were considered during the consultation process.
Inquiries
If you have questions regarding the data contained in this document, please direct them through our contact form to Prahm Nation or Diana McKissock.
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