Tour of duty set to be NZ's last in Iraq

New Zealand's Army engineers are home after six months in Iraq, and the Government has no plans to send another detachment.

Prime Minister Helen Clark, who was at Ohakea Air Base on Saturday night to welcome the 61 engineers and support staff, said last week that it was unlikely they would be replaced.

The Government has said it will consider any United Nations request for headquarters staff, such as liaison officers.

Yesterday, the Green Party said no more lives should be put at risk "just to shore up relations with the White House".

Co-leader Rod Donald said the engineers deserved praise for their good work.

"But to the vast number of Iraqis in Basra they will have been just another unit in the British force that invaded and now occupies their country."

Helen Clark has urged civilians to stay out of Iraq, and said on Saturday that it would be difficult for the Government to do anything if a New Zealander was taken hostage.

"People only have to see the ghastly dramas being played out with hostages and beheadings to know how dangerous the situation is," the Sunday Star Times quoted her as saying.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes 30 to 40 New Zealanders are in Iraq doing private security work, and a further 15 are employed in driving and construction work.

The Army engineers and their support staff were the second rotation of New Zealand troops deployed to the southern city of Basra.

Helen Clark said when they left that they would return in September, and the Government has never indicated they would be replaced.

There were emotional reunions with family and friends at Ohakea, where the Prime Minister was joined by Defence Minister Mark Burton and the Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Air Vice-Marshal David Bamfield.

Helen Clark said the group had done good work in often difficult conditions, which included several mortar attacks on their base.

"Working alongside British forces, New Zealand's light engineer group has contributed to over 40 projects to restore key infrastructure, including the repair and refurbishment of hospitals, health clinics, schools, police stations, law courts and Government buildings."

The contingent's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ants Howie, said earlier that an uprising in the middle of last month prevented the multinational forces from getting out of their base and kept the New Zealanders from completing their reconstruction missions.

"It was very dangerous. There were a lot of groups out there looking for targets."

The Kiwis were disappointed at not being able to finish some projects, particularly the rebuilding of the accident and emergency ward at the Basra Teaching Hospital, he said.

"In the end we got the civilian contractor who was assisting us to complete that ... We had wanted to get out and do some more work and finish it ourselves but we were unable to," said Lt Col Howie.

"It was a disappointing way to finish. It was beyond our control."

But he said the engineers were satisfied that they had done as much as they could.

- NZPA