War veterans are up in arms about a plan to destroy records and case files held by Archives New Zealand.
Photo: 123rf
Submissions closed yesterday on the proposal to move to a fully digitalised record after just one month.
Some Vietnam veterans, who have had an ongoing battle to have their medical problems recognised as being caused by exposure to Agent Orange, say the government has a track-record of getting rid of evidence.
Rick Thame, who is involved in a claim before the Waitangi Tribunal over genetic damage suffered by the families of soldiers, says the government has a track record of destroying veterans' files.
"And why, at this time, with the government faces the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal?
"Do we see that as cynical or sinister? Yes we do."
Many veterans already struggled to get their existing medical conditions recognised because of the mysterious holes in their records, he said.
His own medical record from his Vietnam service years is missing.
Auckland barrister Charl Hirschfeld, who represents Maori veterans and their families in the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry, said they were right to be worried.
Some records are always lost in transferring them from one format to another, either due to oversight or policy, he said.
Annotations and notes on the reverse of documents are not scanned, odd inserts are discarded.
"Past experience shows when files are dealt with to rationalise them in an archive sense, parts of the file never make it onto the new format version.
"The value of the hard copy record is you have the entire record for scrutiny, examination, research, and in this case used as primary material before the Waitangi Tribunal."
He agreed the timing was "suspicious" and the consultation period - January 7 to February 7 - was awkward.
"The timing, to say the least, is not propitious.
"There needs to be more consultation."
However, Returned and Services Association chief executive David Moger, says said there were safeguards in place and the way in which they were being digitised meant they could be more "accessible".