Hon Chris Penk

Additional funding in Budget 2024 has reduced the waiting list of veterans seeking medical and rehabilitation support, Veterans Minister Chris Penk says.

“When we were elected a year ago, the Government made a commitment to improve New Zealand’s public services. As Veterans Minister this means improving access for veterans to treatment and rehabilitation when they need it,” Mr Penk says.

“My number one goal when I took on this role was to reduce wait times for veterans, which is why Budget 2024 invested an extra $4 million dollars over four years directly into Veterans’ Affairs to speed up processing times of applications.

“While there is still more work to address the significant backlog that built up during Covid, it is good to see the numbers now turning around, with Veterans’ Affairs using the additional funding to clear 500 claims from their backlog.

“At its worst, Veterans’ Affairs had a backlog of 2,807 open claims. This has now reduced to 2,305, which represents a decrease of more than 17 per cent.

“New Zealand’s veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and it is simply unacceptable that some were waiting more than a year to receive the support they deserve.

“It is clear to me that there is still a large task ahead of us to reduce processing times to an acceptable level. A recent decision of the Veterans Entitlement Board that would expand coverage beyond that currently administered under the legislation will influence Veterans Affairs’ ability to continue with this positive trend, so those implications need to be considered carefully.

“In the meantime, I am delighted that the additional funding provided by our Government has had made a measurable difference to improve outcomes for Kiwi veterans.”