Vietnam vets to give evidence of Agent Orange effects

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Vietnam veterans will front up to a parliamentary select committee this week as it examines evidence that New Zealand defence personnel were exposed to Agent Orange and other defoliants during the Vietnam War.

The health committee will hear submissions in Auckland today and Wellington tomorrow.

The inquiry will examine evidence that New Zealand soldiers were exposed to Agent Orange and other defoliants during the war.

The committee will also evaluate a report by Deborah McLeod of Otago University's Wellington School of Medicine and a report of the Ministerial Advisory Committee inquiry into the health status of children of veterans.

Christchurch man and former commander of 161 Battery, John Masters, who will make a submission to the committee, said veterans were not looking for special treatment or compensation.

They wanted an acceptance by the Government that the two reports are flawed and that the disabilities New Zealand veterans faced were from Agent Orange and similar to those being experienced by Australian and US Vietnam veterans.

Committee chairwoman Steve Chadwick said the Departments of Defence and Veterans Affairs would give evidence next month, and the inquiry report should be ready early next year.