Australia Takes Care Of Its Veterans

New Zealand First is calling on the Government to take its lead from the Australian Government in its treatment of war veterans.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has approved an extra $267 million benefit for veterans.

“We are not asking the Government to come up to par with Australia, but to reassess its efforts in taking care of our war veterans,” said veterans affairs spokesperson Bill Gudgeon.

Permanently incapacitated veteran’s pensions in Australia will rise in line with the average weekly male earnings, or inflation, whichever is highest. Ex-gratia payments will be made to prisoners of war in the Korean conflict and airmen who served on the Malay-Thai border.

“New Zealand personnel served under the same conditions and in the same conflicts as our Australian counterparts yet the New Zealand Government’s treatment of its vets is so far away from that of Australia’s,” said Mr Gudgeon.

“New Zealand First is asking the Government to support our war veterans in their struggle for better living conditions and acknowledge the hardships they suffered in the name of New Zealand,” concluded Mr Gudgeon.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>