Motions — New Zealand Defence Force—Deaths of Corporal Luke Tamatea, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, and Private Richard Harris in Afghanistan

I seek leave to move a motion without notice on the incident on Sunday, 19 August in the Bamian Province of Afghanistan, which tragically claimed the lives of three New Zealand soldiers.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.

I move, That this House express its deep sympathy and condolences to the families, friends, and military colleagues of the three New Zealand soldiers killed in Afghanistan on 19 August. It is with profound sorrow and also a deep sense of shock that just 1 week after this House passed a motion expressing its condolences on the deaths of Lance Corporal Pralli Durrer and Lance Corporal Rory Malone in Afghanistan we should find ourselves here again paying our respects to three of their colleagues. On Sunday morning Corporal Luke Tamatea, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, and Private Richard Harris were travelling in a convoy on the road to Romero in Bamian. They were in the last of the four Humvees, and were driving it in order to seek medical assistance for one of their colleagues travelling in the same convoy. At 9.21 a.m. their Humvee was hit by a massive improvised explosive device. The explosion was not survivable. These three New Zealanders, who were serving their country so loyally and so well, were killed instantly.

In this House last week my colleague Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said that the Defence Force families knew there were risks in the job, but that did not make it any easier when the knock at the door that they hoped would never come did come. On Sunday it came for the families and friends of Luke Tamatea, Jacinda Baker, and Richard Harris, and for their colleagues in the Defence Force, and, indeed, for all New Zealanders. It is, of course, the families and friends of the three fallen soldiers who bear the loss most acutely, and to them we extend our deep sympathy. At this time this House also thinks of the other families who have lost soldiers in this conflict, and we know that this will have renewed their pain. We are mindful, too, that four of the five soldiers lost in the past fortnight were from the 2/1st Battalion, based at Burnham. Our thoughts are with that regiment in particular.

In the last couple of days tributes have been paid to Luke Tamatea, Jacinda Baker, and Richard Harris, and in that way we have put names and personalities to the toll. The three were different, but they shared characteristics in common with other New Zealand servicemen and women who have served and who continue to serve in Afghanistan. They were loyal, they were brave, and they were hard-working members of a team that always looked out for each other. It would not have been possible to ask more of them.

Our mission and mandate in Afghanistan has been to provide sufficient security to allow the reconstruction to occur, which has significantly improved the lives of local people. Through the efforts of our brave soldiers, we have seen in the Bamian Province the mortality rate for children under 5 halved, and maternal deaths are a quarter of the 2002 levels. Bamian University is now a multi-faculty institution with 2,700 students this year, of which 15 percent are female. Nearly half of all primary school children going to school in the Bamian Province are now girls. This is a record of which our servicemen and women can be extremely proud.

At the same time soldiers like Luke Tamatea, Jacinda Baker, and Richard Harris have been serving New Zealand. Their effort is our contribution to an international force mandated by the United Nations. We have contributed in a way that is built on the finest traditions of the New Zealand military over generations. We have enhanced our reputation as a defence force that is totally committed to the task, even when the conditions are difficult or dangerous. As I have made clear in the past couple of days, the Government is committed to withdrawing from Afghanistan in the first part of next year, and we will continue to work towards the best way to do this. When we leave, it will be done in a way that honours the sacrifice and effort New Zealanders have made for a country that is not their own. Bamian is a better place for Luke Tamatea, Jacinda Baker, and Richard Harris having been there. We are proud of them, we mourn them, and we wish that they rest in peace.

A week ago today at this very moment we stood to remember the lives of Lance Corporal Pralli Durrer and Lance Corporal Rory Malone. We paid tribute to their commitment, their dedication, and the sacrifice they made for their country. We celebrated their achievements in life and we mourned their loss in death. We never imagined that we would be standing here today to pay our respects to three of their colleagues, who have also had their lives cut brutally short in the service of their country. It is not right or fair, but we must put those feelings aside to come together to express our sorrow at the loss of three young Kiwis, who will never get the chance to fulfil the promise and the potential that their lives offered.

At the age of 31, Corporal Luke Tamatea had already given so much. He had a long history of serving his country in Timor-Leste and the Solomons, and he had helped with the tsunami recovery in Sumatra. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan. He was a relaxed, easygoing guy who is remembered fondly in his home town of Te Teko, near Kawerau, as a mountain of a man, and, of course, as a father.

Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker joined the army as a medic. She was in Afghanistan to take care of others and was doing just that when she died. She had already received a commendation in 2008 for her professionalism and courage. Jacinda Baker is the first female Kiwi soldier to be killed in action since we entered Afghanistan, and the first New Zealand woman to die in conflict since the Viet Nam War.

Private Richard Harris was just 21. He had already served one stint in Afghanistan. He was a keen, sporty guy who enjoyed his life in the army and had a bright future ahead of him. He was far too young to die. Our thoughts and prayers are today with their families and friends.

We have lost five of our soldiers in just 2 weeks. The lives of 10 Kiwi military personnel have been ended by violence in Afghanistan during our 9 years’ commitment there. The loss is so great, it is difficult for families, friends, colleagues, and our nation to bear. We ask ourselves whether it is too high a price. It is the price that we ask the members of our armed forces to be prepared to pay whenever they enter a conflict zone. Their courage and willingness to risk their lives doing their duty in the service of our country is an inspiration to us all.

We should not forget that our efforts in Afghanistan have made a real difference to the lives of the people there. Children safely attend school, they are vaccinated against disease, wells and village water supplies have been hooked up, and bridges and hospitals rebuilt. Hundreds—perhaps thousands—of Afghan people would not be alive today if not for our presence. That is all thanks to the efforts of our soldiers. That contribution will never be forgotten.

We have done all that has been asked of us by the international community, and, as a small nation, we have now done all we can. It is time to hand the country back to its own people and its own police forces and security forces. It must be an orderly transition, and it will take months to complete the handover to the Afghan National Police and to withdraw our forces and our equipment, but it is right, after almost a decade, that the end of our commitment in Afghanistan be firmly in sight. We should leave the Afghans with the best possible start.

We thank all of the New Zealanders who have served there on our behalf and who have helped rebuild that fragile country in their many different roles. We recognise their bravery and their willingness to do their best to give others a better life.

But today we stand with the families and friends of Luke Tamatea, Jacinda Baker, and Richard Harris as they come to terms with the shock of losing their loved ones. We cannot comprehend the depth of your grief, but all New Zealanders want you to know that you are not alone at this most difficult time. You are in our thoughts and prayers. May your loved ones rest in peace.

The Green Party stands once again to acknowledge the sacrifice made by New Zealand soldiers. We pay tribute to Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, Private Richard Harris, and Corporal Luke Tamatea, members of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan. This is a painful moment. Ten New Zealand soldiers have now died in Afghanistan since 2010. This is the greatest loss of life and injury in active New Zealand service since Viet Nam. The loss is felt throughout the country.

Around these walls are various battle wreaths and plaques carved in wood. The 12 commemorating First World War battles were installed in 1918. The remaining 18 plaques commemorate the South African war, the Second World War, and subsequent events, which were added in the 1960s. Perhaps Afghanistan will be added. If it is, it will stand as a reminder that almost 100 years after the first battles depicted here, we have not learnt how to tame warfare.

The sacrifice of these three New Zealanders, along with the two whom we honoured this same moment last week, and the other five who have also fallen in Afghanistan, demands that we re-examine our beliefs, our values, our institutions, and our methods of relating between societies in the 21st century. We in New Zealand and all of us around the world must reassess what it will take to ensure that human conflict and the contestation of ideas are handled with greater dignity and in peace. That is the real tribute we can pay these young people and the families they leave behind.

On behalf of New Zealand First I wish to express our greatest sympathy to the family, whānau, friends, and comrades of these brave soldiers: Corporal Luke Tamatea from Kawerau, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker from Christchurch, and Private Richard Harris from Pukekohe. It is with great sorrow that within the short space of 2 weeks we are mourning the loss of more New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan. They died in the service of their country, undertaking a short, 15-kilometre road journey to take a sick mate for medical treatment.

This is the first time since the Viet Nam War that we have mourned the loss of a woman killed in action. It has also not been since the height of the Viet Nam War, in 1968, 1969, and 1970, that we have lost so many soldiers in such a short space of time. I feel great sorrow for the latest loss of lives and for those who grieve for them, and I know how their loved ones are feeling this week, having lost my brother in Viet Nam in 1969. The pain of the tragic loss never goes away, but the families and friends can always be incredibly proud of the ultimate sacrifice their loved one made in the service of their country.

New Zealand soldiers working in the provincial reconstruction team have carried out beneficial work in Bamian Province, which has greatly improved the lives and safety of civilians there. We admire all the selfless work that these soldiers carried out to help others and we acknowledge that it takes great courage and bravery to serve in such a war-torn area as Afghanistan. This is a time for our nation to remember those whom we have lost and pay them the tribute they greatly deserve. May they rest in peace.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Ka tū ake au ki te tautoko i ngā mihi o ngā rangatira, ngā kaiārahi, ngā kaikōrero o ngā rōpū o te Whare nei kua tukuna atu ō rātou poroporoaki ki te tokotoru, otirā, ngā mihi ki ngā whānau, nā reira, tēnā koutou. Ki ngā toa tokotoru o Tūmatauenga, ki a Luke Douglas Tamatea, e 31 ōna tau, nō Te Teko, i Tāmaki-makau-rau e noho ana. Tokowhā āna tamariki i Kawerau, e 12 ōna tau i te pakanga i Te Taua o Tūmatauenga. Ki a Jacinda Francis Elyse Baker, e 26 ōna tau, nō Ōtautahi, he tākuta tāna mahi. I tērā tau ka tohua ia ki te mētara toa, Chief of Army’s Commendation for courage. Ko ia te hōia wahine tuatahi o Aotearoa i mate i te pakanga i Afghanistan. Ki a Richard Lee Harris, e 21 ōna tau, nō Ngāpuhi ki Hokianga, ki Puketī me Ngāti Maru. I Pukekohe ia e noho ana. Ka takoto ia ki Piki-te-Aroha marae, takiwā o Rāhiri ki te Hokianga. Nō te Ope Tuatahi me te Ope Tuarua hoki o te Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment rātou katoa, e mahi ana mā te Taua Whakatika Takiwā i Bamian. E 145 ngā mema o taua rōpū, e 9 tau rātau i reira. I haere katoa atu ēnei hōia ki Bamian i te Āperira, Paenga-whāwhā, o tēnei tau.

I mate i te pahū nui, he mea huna nā te Taliban i te rori, i te takiwā o Do Abe, e tata ana ki te wāhi i mate ai ō rātou hoa tokorua i ngā wiki tata nei. I te wā o te pahūtanga, i te kawe rātou i tētahi hoa hōia ki te hōhipera. E meatia ana, nā te pai o ngā mahi a ō tātou hōia ki te whakapakari i ngā iwi i Bamian te take, i tino pīrangi ai te Taliban kia patua. Nō reira, e mihi ana au ki tērā rōpū tauā mō ā rātou mahi toa i reira.

Ko te tikanga, ka hoki mai ngā hōia katoa ki Aotearoa a te Paenga-whāwhā o te tau e tū mai nei. Tērā pea ka tae ki te wā, e tū ai ngā iwi o reira i runga i tō rātou ake rangatiratanga, waiho mā rātou anō rātou e whakapakari.

Nā reira koutou, hoki wairua mai ki a mātou i Aotearoa nei. Hoki wairua mai koutou ki te whānau o ngā hōia kia taea e ō koutou hoa, te tangi, mihi, poroporoaki i a koutou. Kia ūhia ngā kōrero ki runga i a koutou. Kia ringihia ngā roimata me ngā hūpē ki runga i a koutou. Kia whakangāwari ai i tēnā hīkoi ki roto i ō koutou whānau. Kia takoto ai koutou i ō koutou kāinga tūturu, i waenga i ō koutou whānau, hapū, iwi. Kia mihia koutou, kia poroporoakihia koutou. Nā reira koutou, haere, haere atu rā.

Ki ngā mātua, tīpuna, whānau o te tokotoru nei, ēhara tēnei i te mahi māmā kia kite ai ngā mātua i ō rātou tamariki e hinga mai ana i mua i tō rātou matenga. Nā reira, tēnā koutou kia kaha, anei mātou o te Whare Pāremata e tautoko ana i a koutou i tēnei wā pōuri ō koutou. Nā reira, koutou ki a koutou ngā mate, ā, tātou te hunga ora ki a tātou tēnā koutou, kei raro.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise to endorse the acknowledgments of party leaders, leading figures, and spokespersons of this House who expressed their farewell tributes to the three, and, indeed, their condolences to the families, and so thank you. To the three warriors of the New Zealand Army: Luke Douglas Tamatea, aged 31, of Te Teko, who lived in Auckland, has four children in Kawerau, and served in the army for 12 years; Jacinda Francis Elyse Baker, aged 26, of Christchurch, a medic, who received a Chief of Army’s Commendation for courage last year, and is the first New Zealand female combat casualty in Afghanistan; and Richard Lee Harris, aged 21, a Ngāpuhi from Hokianga, Puketī, and a Ngāti Maru, who lived in Pukekohe and will lie in state at Piki-te-Aroha Marae at Rāhiri, Hokianga. All three were from the 2/1st Battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment and were part of a 145-strong provincial reconstruction team stationed in the province of Bamian for 9 years. All these troops went to Bamian in April this year.

The trio died in a massive explosion from a bomb concealed by the Taliban on the road to Do Abe, close to the area where two of their fellow soldiers were killed in recent weeks. At the time of the explosion, they were taking a fellow soldier to hospital. It has been stated that because our troops were doing such a sterling job to improve the lives of the people of Bamian, the Taliban really wanted to target and kill them. So I pay a tribute to that troop for their courageous efforts there.

According to what has been planned, the expected withdrawal of all New Zealand soldiers is set for April next year. By that time perhaps the people of Afghanistan would have regained their independence and ability to make their own decisions. In terms of how best they can improve their lives, leave that for them to determine.

Therefore I say to you three, return in spirit to us here in New Zealand. Return spiritually to the family of the army so that your fellow soldiers can mourn, acknowledge, and farewell you three. It will enable you to be shrouded with speeches and have outpourings of tears and mucus cast over you. Those elements will ease the journey back for each of you to your own families and to lie in state in your place of birth among your family, subtribe, and tribe. And it is there that they will acknowledge and farewell you. So depart, go forth, goodbye.

To you, the parents, ancestors, and families of this trio, this is not an easy situation for parents to see their children predecease them. Hence I say to you be strong. We, the members of the House of Representatives, support you at this time of your sadness.

To you, the dead, I say unto you, remain there among your own, and we, the living, I acknowledge us all and resume my seat.]

Hoi anō, hei kōrero tuatahi me mihi atu ki a koutou katoa e tuku poroporoaki ki a rātou ngā rangatira kua mate atu ki tērā taha o te ao. E tika ana kia mihi atu ki ngā mate i tēnei wā, haere, haere, haere. Koutou e ngā whānau e tatari tonu ana kia hoki mai ki te kāinga, e tika ana kia mōhio ai koutou, anei mātou katoa o roto o te Pāremata, hākoa ko wai te tangata, ko tēhea te pāti, e tū kotahi ana i roto i te pōuritanga kei runga i a koutou i tēnei wā.

[So, to begin with, I acknowledge you all who made tributes of farewell to them, the chiefly ones who died on the other side of the world. It is fitting as well at this point in time that I say to the deaths, farewell, depart, and journey on. To you, the families who are still waiting for their return home, it is fitting that you know that all of us here in Parliament, regardless who it is and which party it is, stand as one with you in this hour of sadness upon you.]

Last week a number of Māori MPs from different political parties debated a range of issues on Native Affairs. Naturally, we all had our different opinions on all of those issues, except one: what to do about our troops in Afghanistan. It was nice to hear that on that one issue we were all singing from the same song sheet: bring the troops home.

I know that in this House it might seem inappropriate to be asking why we are at war when our troops are dying. I do not want people to think that asking questions here today in any way challenges the sacrifice that our troops have made, for some have made the ultimate sacrifice. But I also know that when we go to a tangi for one of our whānau who has died in a car accident, or from smoking, or from an act of violence, or from anything else, we openly ask ourselves why they died, and whether or not there was anything we could have done to stop them dying. Today is no different. Today people prepare for the return of their loved ones from Afghanistan. Today we all mourn those who have died, both Māori and non-Māori, and we all share in the grief of their whānau and their communities. Today is the right time to ask questions about why they died, and whether or not there was anything we could have done to stop them dying—questions that some of the families of those still in Afghanistan want answered.

They are questions like why exactly it is that we are expected to stay the course when that course has changed from one of reconstruction to a more aggressive role. Are our troops still involved in reconstruction, or has that changed to a more direct battle for their survival? Why are we hearing that New Zealand vehicles are being stopped and searched by the Taliban? Is that happening because neither New Zealand forces nor any other coalition forces can guarantee security there any longer? When the Prime Minister himself talks about the need to restore security, is it because he too has accepted what everybody already knows—that security is deteriorating in Afghanistan? Is deteriorating security the reason why the Hungarians refuse to patrol at night, and is that why New Zealand troops are being asked to take on a greater role there? Does the Government accept that the deteriorating security status in Bamian and across the country means that New Zealand need not commit itself to an American timetable of departure, and that we are entirely within our rights as a sovereign nation to ensure the safety and security of our own troops by withdrawing them from front-line action? When the Government says that it does not want it to look like the Taliban is forcing New Zealand out of Afghanistan, surely it is not saying that it is willing to sacrifice New Zealand troops to prove how staunch we are. When the Minister of Defence confirmed last night that the reports are true that the Taliban is now specifically targeting New Zealand troops, why was he unable to say what additional security is being provided for those troops? Can somebody in the Government tell mothers and fathers at home why it is that the Government has cut back on the resources for our remaining troops when they are under greater threat now than they have ever been? And can somebody please tell us why we have withdrawn the SAS at a time when their support is most desperately needed by our own troops on the ground?

If the Government’s commitment to reducing funding, reducing resourcing, and reducing the support levels for our troops in Afghanistan is met by a declaration of specific targeting of our remaining troops by the Taliban, then it is time to accept that the reduction in overall security of our forces on the ground presents our Government with one of two simple choices: an immediate enhancement of the security for those on the ground until such time as they can be withdrawn as soon as possible, or an immediate withdrawal of all New Zealand troops from Afghanistan.

Hoi anō, hei whakakapi i taku kōrero ēhara i te mea, hei takatakahia i ngā mahi a te Kāwanatanga ēngari, kia mihi atu ki ngā whānau e tatari ana kia hoki tika mai ngā tūpāpaku o rātou kia mate atu i tērā o ngā whenua. Nō reira e ngā mate, haere koutou, haere koutou, haere koutou. Huri tū ki a tātou te kanohi ora, tātou e nohonoho nei, tena koutou huri rauna, kia ora tātou katoa.

[So, to end my address, it is not as though I am walking all over Government action but rather I am paying a tribute to families waiting for the bodies of loved ones to come directly back to them from those lands over there. And so to you, the dead, farewell, depart, and move on. I turn to us, the living seated about here, to acknowledge you and all of us throughout, thank you.]

It is with great sadness that I rise to speak on behalf of the ACT Party on the loss of our three soldiers in Afghanistan: Corporal Luke Tamatea, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, and Private Richard Harris. It is made all the more difficult, is it not, when it was just this time last week that we paid tribute to two other brother soldiers who lost their lives for the same cause. For the 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, based in Burnham, it is five deaths in 2 weeks. It is a credit to our country that we continue to have brave men and women who are prepared to step up and defend democracy at any corner of the world. I recall again those words that are written high above the gates on entry to the infantry base at Burnham: “Remember that prosperity can only be for the free, and that freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.” I cannot imagine the thoughts that will be in the minds of their fellow soldiers still on the ground in Bamian Province, but we here today want them to know that we back home continually think about them, we care about them, and we greatly value their brave work. To the fallen. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to their families, to their friends, and to the military at this very difficult time.

Up and down New Zealand in every little village and town the centrepiece is a war memorial upon which are displayed the names of those who have died in battles past. Many of us, I suspect, have looked upon those names and wondered about the people who are but chiselled memories there. What were they like? What were their aspirations? What were their hopes for the future? Why were they involved? When we consider Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, Corporal Luke Tamatea, and Private Richard Harris, we consider not only the next set of names to be chiselled into those monuments but real people, in our experience, doing a real and difficult job and paying an awful sacrifice for doing so.

We may all well have our own views about the Afghanistan engagement. This occasion is not the time to air those. This occasion this afternoon is one to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in pursuit of the objectives of that mission, and to acknowledge the validity of their service, the courage of their effort, and the genuine nature of their involvement. There will be other times and other places to debate the wider defence and political questions.

But today we stand alongside those individuals. We stand alongside their colleagues in Afghanistan—in Bamian—and in New Zealand, their families, and their friends. We stand again alongside the other families who have lost loved ones in this conflict, and for whom the events of the last 2 weeks will be the most awful reminder all over again of their own experience. This occasion this afternoon is one for this Parliament to say to those who are suffering today that you have our support, you have our sympathy, you have our encouragement, and you have our grateful admiration for the sacrifices that have been made in the pursuit of the freedom and the prosperity that we all seek to enjoy.

May the memories of Lance Corporal Baker, Corporal Tamatea, and Private Harris linger for a very long time. May their reputations and their honour be proudly displayed in the annals of our military history. May their families and friends take solace and comfort from the words of this Parliament this afternoon. May they rest in peace.

Motion agreed to.