Veterans Affairs committee  As well as ANZAC Day and supporting that outpouring in the community, the minister also has a discretionary fund whereby he's able to assist veterans to go back to areas where they fought, so they can go back and visit the battlefields they fought in. It's kind of a closure for them to go back and see where they were, how it is changed.

Veterans Affairs committee  On collection of information, as they align most of the defence force, that will give us better access to defence records. We're looking to digitalize information so we have that information regularly available to a number of decision-makers. The other thing with the digitalization is that if we can move on the chipped card, we can put medical records on the chip, so we have a copy with the person throughout his life, and we can add to it, as well as having it centrally stored.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mostly home help. The biggest group of veterans we have served in World War II and the biggest service they use is home help. Lawns, housework, and things like that are the biggest services used.

Veterans Affairs committee  We contract the services. Through the contract service we set the standards we want against the cost, and then we monitor those contracts as necessary. There are variances. We find that the best monitors are the veterans themselves, who follow it up. If it's not done to the standard they think it should be done, they will tell us.

Veterans Affairs committee  We use the veteran's general practitioner, in the main. The general practitioner identifies that the person needs medical treatment or assistance and can refer them to a specialist and work with the case manager to get the appropriate treatment. Because the general practitioner has often dealt with that person for a long period of time and knows the family and health needs of the veteran in total, they make a good contact point to make those calls.

Veterans Affairs committee  We don't know for sure, because of our inability to collect data, but we estimate that it is about 30,000 to 40,000.

Veterans Affairs committee  In New Zealand the definition of a veteran is somebody who has had service in a war or an emergency. Just having been in uniform doesn't make someone a veteran. So, for us, it's World War II, British Commonwealth Occupation Force Japan, Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, and then the smaller UN deployments.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, you wouldn't. We have an excellent state-funded compensation system in New Zealand. If you have an accident in uniform and you are not in a deployed situation, you are covered by excellent compensation, which has an earnings-related compensation component as well as injury assistance.