Kaumātua Ruawhitu Pokaia, centre, talks to NZDF Waitangi Tribunal project director Lieutenant Colonel Martin Dransfield, left, and Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Kevin Short, at the first week of Wai 2500 Military Veterans Kaupapa Inquiry in Rotorua last year. Photo: Supplied
The New Zealand Defence Force says it's listening to the experiences of Māori military veterans at the latest Waitangi Tribunal hearings.
The Tribunal is holding its second hearing this week at Mōtatau marae south of Kawakawa, as part of the Wai 2500 Military Veterans Kaupapa Inquiry into all claims involving past Māori military service.
The purposes of the inquiry - in addition to determining the Treaty of Waitangi consistency of Crown conduct - are to prepare an official narrative that will put Māori experiences of military service for the Crown on public record, and consider how to improve support for veterans and current serving personnel.
Stage one of the inquiry began at Tūnohopū Marae, Rotorua in June. In this stage, the tribunal will hear evidence from claimants regarding service in Korea and South East Asia (1950s - 1990s), Antarctic operations, nuclear testing and peacekeeping (1950s-2010s) and current Crown policy and practice, in relation to concerns raised by Māori ex-service people and their whānau.
Stage two will focus on claims concerning the Second Anglo-Boer War and World War 1 (1890s-1920s), as well as World War II and the occupation of Japan (1930s-1940s).
Senior leaders from across the Defence Force attended the opening of this week's hearing, including Chief of Army Major General John Boswell and Commander Joint Forces Rear Admiral James Gilmour.
The first week of WAI 2500 hearings took place at Tūnohopū Marae in Rotorua. Photo: Supplied
Major General Boswell said the hearings were a chance to look into the practices that were in place today to support current defence personnel, and how that might change into the future.
"It's really important that the Defence Force supports the opportunity for our veterans and their whānau to share their their experiences.
"We really are here today to listen and engage with the process so that we can find those opportunities to better support our Māori veterans."
Boswell said today they had heard about the challenges faced by one veteran who served in Malaya and Thailand.
"It's just incredibly humbling to be here amongst ex-service personnel who were honoured to serve their country, but also to be exposed to some of the challenges they faced and to think through how we can be part of the solution going forward," he said.
Boswell said many of the issues raised in the inquiry will help the Defence Force to better work with its Māori personnel.
"We are always looking at how we can better work alongside Māori veterans and indeed the Māori soldiers of today."