December 18, 2013
Battered brothers challenge ministerial brush-off
Brothers George and Damien Nepata have challenged the reasons given for denying them compensation for separate accidents that happened while they were serving in the army.
Last week Defence minister Jonathan Coleman turned down a unanimous recommendation from the Maori Affairs select committee for compensation.
Dr Coleman said the brothers received the appropriate entitlements under ACC legislation and their full legal entitlement to Defence Force benefits, and it is not possible to distinguish between their situation and numerous other people who have been injured in the service of New Zealand.
Damien Nepata says the only Defence Force benefits they are entitled to is access to Army leave centres, which is hardly compensation for being burnt over 40 percent of his body, or in George’s case, losing the use of his legs.
He says the point of the bid was that they fell through cracks in the system.
If the incidents happened now rather than 20 years ago, the New Zealand Defence Force would be subject to prosecution under the health and safety laws and it would have had to pay the brothers additional compensation of four times their annual salary.
Mr Nepata says Mr Coleman’s decision will reinforce the belief among many service personnel that politicians hold little regard for the safety and welfare of current and former service personnel.
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