The Korean Veterans Association has every right to feel disappointed at the Government's decision to make it pay for a 50th-anniversary reception in Parliament. Its Wellington president, Ian Mackley, probably speaks for the vast majority of Korean War veterans when he says he is "disgusted" that they are being charged.
A spokesman for the Minister of Defence tried to justify the parsimonious attitude with the explanation that the reception was originally to be held at Government House, where the association would have footed the bill. A change of venue, he said, did not change the financial arrangement and the veterans were "always going to meet the full cost." Why? There must be a curious attitude pervading the corridors of power these days if our Government is unable to recognise a continuing responsibility towards men whose service to this country was no less than that of the World Wars servicemen routinely lauded and honoured by Parliament and its occupants.
Nobody expects the Government to meet the cost of every reunion that war veterans groups decide to hold. But this is the 50th anniversary of a mission that in some ways has become a forgotten war, wedged in public memory between the Second World War that ended five years before and the Vietnam War that made the policy of containment of communism contentious.
It needs to be remembered that 6000 New Zealanders volunteered for service when their Government became one of the first to support a United Nations call for armed intervention after North Korea invaded the south on June 24, 1950. Forty-three of them died. They fought in conditions that were every bit as arduous as those in the European theatre in the Second World War. Some sectors were even compared to the trench warfare of 1914-18. And the presence of New Zealand soldiers and seamen in Korea had wide public support at home.
They deserve a state-funded reception at Parliament. Their association should never have faced the cost. The change of venue from Government House to the Beehive should merely have alerted the Government to its obligations. Instead it has committed a public relations clanger. On a scale of one to 10 it may not rank more than a four or five. A "10" would be something like the BBC's refusal to mount a live broadcast of the Queen Mother's 100th-birthday celebrations, a decision widely regarded in Britain as "breathtakingly arrogant." The idea of giving Korean veterans a BYO anniversary party probably arises less from arrogance than inexperience. It is just plain dumb.
Parliamentary receptions are not lavish affairs. They are not 10-course banquets with silver service and liveried staff. They are usually drinks and canapes that are hardly going to break the Parliamentary Services budget. Certainly it is likely to cost less than the Foreign Minister's visit to Korea to mark the anniversary of the conflict. No more than a moment's thought would have been needed to approve that expense, and rightly so. Meeting the cost of the reception for veterans should have been as easy a decision.
They have been slighted by their own Government while that of South Korea is making numerous efforts to express its gratitude to those who helped defend the homeland. Mr Burton ought to reconsider. If he has thoughts of toughing it out he might note that the BBC tried that tactic and now has more egg on its face. The Queen Mother's parade will be shown live - on Britain's ITV commercial network. It pays to put things right quickly.
<i>Editorial:</i> Korean veterans deserve better
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.