Madam Speaker, In supporting the Prime Minister’s statement, and speaking as Leader of the Progressive Party, may I say that as one gets older, it is increasingly possible to see and participate in examples of where history offers the prospect of learning lessons in the hope that things might be done better in the future.

Today is one such example.

The purpose of this very public statement in the House is to increase the chances of learning: as a country, as a government, as armed forces, as family.

I believe that lessons have been well-learned, and when push comes to deployment, is supported on all sides of this House.

For today’s purposes, the risks include that it will be difficult to address properly, any resulting problems, including of a health and welfare nature, that emerge from that deployment.

And so we find ourselves in the House today, decades down the track, at last coming to terms with our deployment of troops in Vietnam. We have focussed on two key questions: what did this mean to those who served and to their families? And how did the various authorities respond to the evidence of problems associated with that service?

Madam Speaker, today we pay tribute to those who served – I thank them for doing their duty, as they saw it, even though I personally criticised the foreign policy decision to send them there.

I pay tribute to those who have fought more domestic battles since, to rehabilitate veterans in medical and health terms, and before the public and government of New Zealand.

I pay particular tribute to one of those soldiers who I have got to know well in Christchurch, John Masters who served as a major in Vietnam and retired as a colonel.

I acknowledge that it was his personal copies of operational maps, kept for over 30 years, that completely destroyed the misconception that New Zealanders had not been exposed to Agent Orange.

I acknowledge not only John’s service in Vietnam, but also his service over decades for the welfare of all veterans especially at Rannerdale Home in Christchurch.

I acknowledge him as an exceptional human being: straight, decent, concerned for others.

John, I know you are unwell, but if you are listening, I want you to hear the following words clearly stated in Parliament, at risk of repeating what the Prime Minister and others have said this afternoon:

It was wrong for authorities at all levels not to have dealt appropriately with the issue of exposure to Agent Orange.

I am sorry that this issue was not better dealt with by successive governments and authorities over nearly four decades.

I am sorry that our armed service men and women who served in good faith have suffered physically, psychologically, and socially.

It is time to come home – learning lessons, and rebuilding the trust and confidence that is the heart of the New Zealand spirit.

There are simple matters here that go to the heart of not only good government, but of being a good Kiwi: acknowledge problems, say sorry, try to fix them.

 Today we are doing just that.