Last night as the clock ran down on 10pm in the debating chamber, a succession of ex-military MPs took calls to speak.
They were responding to the Defence Minister Peni Henare who presented his Inspector General Defence Bill for its first reading.
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Labour MP Peeni Henare in the debating chamber Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
“This Government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham. That is why I endorse the establishment of an Inspector-General of Defence (IGD) to provide independent oversight for the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF),” Henare said.
“In undertaking their inquiry into the August 2010 Operation Burnham in Afghanistan and related matters, Sir Terence Arnold and Sir Geoffrey Palmer identified that the actions of the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) on the ground were professional and lawful but there were shortcomings, and they identified those and that the NZDF needed these matters to be dealt with. Having an office which has the necessary powers and authority to look into such matters in future is essential.
“It is essential not only to ensure additional independent scrutiny is available but also to provide an independent avenue for the dedicated men and women who are asked to protect Aotearoa and our interests. The Operation Burnham inquiry found there was a failure to provide full, timely, and accurate information to Ministers.”
The inquiry into New Zealand special forces operations in Afghanistan in 2010 found deficiencies in how the Defence Force dealt with civilian casualties. One of the recommendations resulting from the inquiry was that an office of the Independent Inspector-General of Defence (located outside the NZDF organisational structure) be established. Hence this Bill.
National MP Tim van de Molen in committee Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
But the National MP and ex-army servicemen Tim van der Molen argued there wasn’t a need for the new position to be established, saying there were safeguards already in place.
He said that “what we have seen since that inquiry came out is that, in my mind, NZDF have moved quite quickly to implement a new series of processes to look at ensuring that there can be no issues arising”.
“Off the back of this inquiry that found no wrongdoing from our personnel on the ground but some issues within the senior leadership of NZDF—and I will acknowledge that—there have been subsequent changes made.
“On that basis, we have decided—in the National Party—not to support this bill, because, actually, we don't see that there is a strong enough need for an Inspector-General of Defence at a time like we are facing right now.”
Former naval officer Chris Penk was the next National MP to speak and he expounded on some of the pressing issues facing the NZDF that should instead be addressed.
“Things can and should always be done better where that is possible. But to impose upon the defence force one thing among the many things that they do desperately need right now—those tangible improvements in relation to personnel, equipment, and so on, but, most importantly, leadership, greater leadership than merely conducting a review into the parlous state of the defence force, as we saw announced recently. We actually need some action. There won't be much of a defence force left to review, to inspect, or to otherwise scrutinise.”
Chris Penk: "the only 'clause' that you'll have to deal with for a while is Santa!" Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Another former soldier, Labour’s Dan Rosewarne, reminded the house that the Bill was about ensuring independent civilian oversight of the NZDF and enhancing its democratic accountability.
“It fills a critical gap in the New Zealand democratic civil relations construct. That is because it allows objective civilian control through allowing the military to carry out operations, either here at home or abroad as part of a coalition without undermining the system of Government,” he said.
“Having served in these areas of operations which gave birth to the Burnham Inquiry, it's very easy for things to go wrong. It's very essential that we have that civilian oversight of our operations when we are deployed overseas. I just also want to point out that New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) did actually ask for this, and they wanted that transparency.”
There was an air of defensiveness among the ex-army National MPs when it came to any suggestion that the NZDF needs more scrutiny. And this was only accentuated when Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman spoke in support of the Bill, advocating for accountability and focussing on victims.
“They lived in Afghanistan and they experienced some grave, grave harm, to the extent of torture and death, at the hand of militaries that we were allies with, and perhaps our military. We never quite got to the bottom of that, but that's the kind of harm that we hope to avoid,” she said to jeering from the National benches.
Green Mp Golriz Ghahraman in the House Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith
“So this is a good bill. It's good to see a Minister respond to a report like that that came out of the Operation Burnham inquiry with actual legislation with a systems shift by way of the creation of the role of the Inspector-General of Defence and also the Deputy Inspector-General. It's inspiring to see that we will have oversight—including full access to information that's held by the defence forces—and that we say that the defence forces, even in war, are accountable to the people of New Zealand and that they will be responsible and will not act with impunity if things do go wrong. In fact, this incentivises respect for the rule of law: the rule of law in the international arena by way of humanitarian law and the laws of war, and also our own domestic human rights obligations. Those are important.”
In response, National’s Joseph Mooney, a former army reservist, urged Ghahraman “to just take a look at the inquiry into Operation Burnham in Afghanistan which clearly found no wrongdoing by our SAS soldiers. That needs to be underlined and understood. That member of Parliament has a responsibility to reflect on that”. He said there was already extensive oversight of the NZDF, which he said “is accountable to civilian control”.
MPs will soldier on with this debate during the extended sitting tomorrow morning, with three speeches left to run on this first reading.