No. Way.
Families of soldiers killed in the line of duty fear the truth behind battlefield deaths could be covered up under controversial laws being considered.
The new law is being debated as Kiwi troops prepare to depart for Iraq to join the fight against Islamic State.
Under the Coroner’s Amendment Bill, which had its first reading last week, coroners would no longer be able to automatically investigate combat deaths, supposedly because it could breach national security. Instead the military would investigate deaths in-house.
Former chief coroner, Neil MacLean, has called the move undemocratic, and the partner of a soldier who died in battle believes it could lead to information being withheld from grieving families.
Hiding the causes of death of serving NZ military is a slap in the face to those we ask to risk their lives for our National interest. We can’t trust the NZDF to be honest, we can’t trust the Government to be honest, where the hell is the oversight for those who get killed in Iraq?
Nothing dulls the cheerleaders of war like friendly fire. How are the families supposed to believe anything a secret military tribunal will say about the deaths of their loved ones?
This removes transparency right when the Government are launching a war, shouldn’t we have MORE oversight and not less?
If you voted National and support the war you should be ashamed of yourself. Sure, you’ll wave the flag and cheer NZ Soldiers as they leave to fight, but the Government you elected won’t allow any transparent investigation into any of their deaths if they are killed.
Why is this law even being considered? It only purpose is to enable the hiding of facts from NZ’ers. Who are the proponents of this law? Where does their allegiance lie? Clearly not with the NZ people.
Well done Martyn for bringing it into public view.
Ike
I agree with you and Bradbury that the proponents of this law serve; National’s interests, not the national interest.
However, the link is to a NZH article, and we were discussing this topic on TS Open Mike yesterday. So it might be a bit much saying that Bradbury brought it into “public view”. Good on him for keeping the spotlight on this issue though!
It got a small piece in the Sunday papers too I believe. But this law change is so wrong.
I can only ask those who support National and John Key, if this law is passed, how will you feel and react, if it were one of your loved ones who died overseas while serving in the military, and you were told lies about the death of your loved one?
Would you call for an independent inquiry, knowing the government are withholding vital information on your loved one? Or would you just go through your grieving and leave it at that?
I would call for answers and accountability to the truth.
Children are meant to bury their parents at their time of passing, not the parents bury their children long before their time to die for an unworthy cause.
This blog deserves far more profile.
I wondered just how the control freaks that are National, the ones that constantly cover up bad news in NZ were going to control the bad news from a war zone, and this is how. Legislate official lying.
The lack of honesty, morals or ethics is bad enough with the PM and his ministers at the moment without creating a law that officially allows the public to be mislead. We will never know what really happened to anyone killed over there or if the wrong people are killed or injured.
In the “National interest” becomes in “Nationals interest”. It is hideous!
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