Vietnam bill voted out by Govt

Press, 27 April 1983, Page 6

Vietnam bill voted out by Govt

PA Wellington The Government yesterday voted down an attempt in Parliament to set up a commission of inquiry into the effects of chemicals used in the Vietnam war. Mr G. B. Braybrooke (Lab., Napier) brought his Vietnam War Veterans’ Health (Investigation) Bill into the House, saying he wanted a commission to investigate the extent of health damage to New Zealand servicemen caused by the use of herbicides and other chemicals. However, the Minister of Defence, Mr Thomson, said that the Government was already monitoring overseas research into health aspects, including birth defects, and that the legislation would only raise the false hopes of servicemen. The bill failed to be introduced on a division which the Government won by 38 votes to 37. Mr Braybrooke said that one of the principal herbicides used in the war was Agent Orange. Servicemen were exposed to Agent Orange after being told it was harmless, said Mr Braybrooke, who served in Vietnam and saw the herbicide sprayed there.

There were strong suggestions now that dioxin, one of the ingredients of Agent Orange, could cause cancer, as well as other diseases. Mr Thomson produced a copy of a recent Australian report after he challenged Mr Braybrooke to withdraw his bill, saying it would raise false hopes. A birth defects study by the Commonwealth Institute of Health, at the University of Sydney, said that there was no evidence that service in Vietnam related to the risk of fathering a child with an “anomoly.” Mr Braybrooke said that the issue was a contentious one and would not go away. “I do not believe that this type of question should be settled by politicians. These were New Zealand -troops who served New Zealand well,” he said. Mr Thomson said that the Government had always adopted a careful and responsible approach to assertions that service in Vietnam was the cause of birth defects in children fathered by Vietnam veterans. “The sorrow and bewilderment of those fathers is well understood,” the Minis-

ter said. In November last year the United States’ Veterans Administration released a review of Agent Orange. In part, it said “at present the best available scientific evidence fails to indicate that exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides used in Vietnam has caused any long-term health problems for veterans or their children,” Mr Thomson said. The Government intended to closely monitor the progress of overseas studies,, the Minister said. The war pensions legislation in New Zealand provided for servicemen much better than in other countries, he said. i Government members, Mr D. M. J. Jones (Helens-, ville), and Mr D. L. Kidd! (Marlborough), both said '■ there was no evidence that birth defects in children, were associated with thefathers’ service in Vietnam. However, Dr M. R. Bassett (Lab., Te Atatu) said that this “most disgraceful” war in New Zealand’s history clearly left “some lasting scars” on New Zealand | servicemen’s health and an inquiry would find out if Agent Orange caused any ofthem.