Waitangi Tribunal military veterans inquiry hearings under way
File photo. A series of claimant hearings was held between June 2023 and October 2024.
Photo:
SUPPLIED / NZDF
The second of three Crown hearings this year for the Military Veterans Waitangi Tribunal Kaupapa Inquiry is beginning to hear evidence.
The WAI 2500 inquiry is to consider all claims related to past military service carried out directly for the New Zealand Crown or, during earlier colonial times, on behalf of the British Crown in New Zealand.
The week-long hearing at Te Taua Moana Marae in Devonport includes Tribunal-commissioned report writers, and witnesses from the Crown-commissioned report and New Zealand Defence Force respectively.
The the first Crown hearing week was at Rongomaraeroa-o-ngā-hau-e-whā Marae, Waiouru, in March and a series of claimant hearings was held between June 2023 and October 2024.
These hearings form part of stage one of the Tribunal hearings, focused on the on claims concerning military service after WWII. This includes operations in Korea and South-East Asia, Antarctic operations, nuclear testing and peacekeeping, and current Crown policy and practice in relation to concerns raised by Māori ex-servicepeople and their whānau.
The Waitangi Tribunal will be livestreaming the hearing.
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