N.Z. soldiers share

Press, 9 May 1984, Page 8

N.Z. soldiers share

PA Auckland Many New Zealand servicemen may be able to claim part of a SNZ274 million compensation fund established in the United States yesterday for soldiers affected by the Agent Orange defoliant during the VietnaM war. Sixty-fpur New Zealand troops, with soldiers from the United States and Australia, were awarded $25,000 each in the settlement, said the New Zealand Vietnam Veterans’ Association president, Mr Vic Johnson, yesterday. However, the association had been approached by more than 300 servicemen who might be eligible for the compensation, Mr Johnson said.

Even more of the 2600 New Zealand troops who fought in Vietnam could have Agent Orange symptoms and might not have come forward so far, he said. The $274 million fund was established in an out-of-court settlement, the biggest in American legal history, the day before a test case was to begin. The seven chemical companies involved have not admitted any liability for any effects caused by the defoliant in making the settlement. An Auckland lawyer, Mr R. L. Maclaren, has been representing the 64 New Zealand claimants. Mr Johnson said yester-

day that each claimant would receive $25,000, to be paid over four years and beginning in about a year. Others who thought they would be eligible to claim compensation from the fund would have to get in touch with the association and then see if their medical symptoms matched the “known factors” of- Agent Orange contamination. Agent Orange has been blamed for a variety of ills, including birth defects in children, cancers, and skin diseases. So far the Government and the War Pensions Board had said that there was no evidence linking Agent Orange with health problems. he said.