UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says he is deeply disappointed that the Government has decided against further compensation for injured soldiers George and Damian Nepata.
Mr Dunne chaired the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee which first recommended compensation for the brothers ten years ago, and was part of the approach to the present Government earlier this year this urging that the decision be reviewed.
“The implication in the Minister’s statement that the risk of creating a precedent weighed heavily on the Government’s thinking is of concern, because both the select committee a decade ago and the current representations stressed that the brothers’ situation was unique and therefore no precedent should be created.
“They fell between the cracks for adequate compensation for their injuries at the time, which created the original injustice, and today’s decision, sadly, perpetuates that injustice,” he says.
Mr Dunne described the timing of today’s announcement – the day after Parliament rose for the year and less than two weeks before Christmas – as a further “cruel blow” to the stoic brothers.