Q+A: Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Tim Keating

The Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Tim Keating told TV One’s Q+A programme that the public doesn’t need to know when our soldiers will head to Iraq.

“Deployment dates – I think most people would understand the sensitivities around getting forces into a country like Iraq, and is that a matter for the public? I don't think so.”

Lieutenant General Tim Keating denied that there is any secrecy around the deployment of NZ troops to Iraq.

“I don't think there's secrecy around it. I think we've been quite open. Well, I've been quite open, and so has the government about what we're there for.”
Lieutenant General Keating says he will, “always err on the side of caution if I think it enhances the risk to those service people I'm deploying. Notwithstanding that, I'm determined, as is the Government, to be transparent about what we're doing there and the results we aim to achieve.”
Lieutenant General Keating also told Q+A that Gallipoli, “was a coming of age of the country.
It was the first major campaign for New Zealand in World War I, and as history records, it was a disaster, but it was also a triumph of spirit.”
When asked what Anzac Day means to him Lieutenant General Keating said it is “multi-dimensional”.

“..to remind New Zealand, if you like, that we still have many hundreds of New Zealanders serving in the name of good around the world today, so that's very important. But I think Anzac Day, we have to sort commemorate, I suppose. There's the commemoration element of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, given their lives in the name of the country, and as well as the other sort of suffering from families, you know, losing loved ones..”

ends

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