The Royal New Zealand Artillery

As a result of the meeting a Report was produced (copy attached) which made several recommendations. Now whilst I know most of you will delve into the 19 page report with gusto, I also know that many of you will be too busy to do that and so to summarise the summary;

-there is no provision for a veteran to be able to meet case managers face to face, and this can be a serious disadvantage for some older veterans with speech/hearing/communication difficulties,
-the `Assessment` process is approached from an ailment-by ailment viewpoint, rather than from an `holistic` viewpoint. As veterans get older, this `ACC style approach`can lead to a diminishment of veterans` treatments, rather than cater to a need for more treatment.
-the implementation of `Your Plan/Our Agreement` is farcical in the way it is implemented at the moment and needs significant change in its wording and approach.
-the Code of Veterans Rights had not been issued at the time the paper was written, but has subsequently (Dec 2015) been published. We will examine this document with interest.

Click here to read the full report.

The Review Paper was submitted to the RNZA Assn AGM in Christchurch in November 15, and the Colonel Commandant Barry Dreyer submitted the Paper to the Chief of Army `Honorary Colonels` Conference` in late November 2015. We are now awaiting feedback from this, and expect that the Paper will be processed up to the Chief of Defence (the `owner` of Veterans Affairs) in the New Year.

I must stress that this Review Paper is not just another `whinge` about beneficiaries rights. General feedback from veterans has been that Veterans Affairs are doing a pretty good job, but we believe it could be better, and we need to be vigilant to ensure the treatment of veterans under the Veteran Support Act 2014 does not diminish.

I would welcome any feedback on this matter.

Regards

Tony McLeod, President RNZA Assn