A member of New Zealand's first expert panel on war veterans' health says the panel "was a good cornerstone for the future" even though it had not achieved the changes for veterans he had hoped for.
Former RSA president John Campbell, of Dunedin, is the only lay member on the panel, which is being disbanded this month.
The Government appointed the panel in April 2009 for a two-year term and members were asked to stay on until the end of the month to complete reports already under way.
A spokesman from the office of Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins, said recently she was "looking at proceeding under a different format" after this month.
No decisions on the future composition of the new panel or other terms of reference had yet been made, the spokesman said.
Mr Campbell (72), a Vietnam veteran, said "he had had his turn at the wheel" and would not be seeking a place on the new panel.
He said he did not think he would be offered a place, having been critical of the lack of action on the panel's reports and recommendations made by it, and the Government's decision not to release the reports and recommendations to the RSA and the public.
The panel "hadn't changed anything yet" for Vietnam veterans seeking compensation for health problems they believed were caused by exposure to toxins such as Agent Orange, he said.
" ... The panel has not yet met the expectations of myself and other Vietnam veterans. That is disappointing to me, seeing I am a veteran and had a direct hand in getting [it] up and running."
But he said the panel had done good work, establishing links with veterans, their families and the RSA, and producing five substantial reports or recommendations"It has not been a waste of time, not at all. It has been a good starting point - a very good cornerstone for the future."
The panel will have its last meeting on June 15.
It had served a very useful purpose", panel chairman Prof John Campbell, of Dunedin, said recently.
Its reports had included an investigation into prostate and lung cancer among Vietnam veterans, hearing loss among veterans, and the health implications of veterans' exposure to nuclear testing in the Pacific.
He said he hoped the panel would be continued in some form.
There are an estimated 40,000 New Zealand war veterans, about half of whom are World War 2 veterans, now aged 85 or older.
Last year, the New Zealand Law Commission completed a review of the War Pensions Act, 1954, the legislation which still covers veterans' health assessments and disability payments.
Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer recommended in June last year the "outdated and inaccessible" legislation be replaced with two new schemes, one applying to older veterans and the other to those who had served since ACC was introduced in 1974.
He also recommended the new legislation should establish an expert medical panel similar in make-up and objectives to the current panel.
Mr Campbell said he fully supported Sir Geoffrey's recommendations. He hoped the Government would introduce a medical panel similar to Australia's Repatriation Medical Authority which was independent of government and had the power to make binding statutory decisions.
Panel's history
Ministerial Advisory Group on Veterans' Health
• Established: April 2009.
• Main tasks: To consider war-related health issues; to recommend what level of war pensions should be paid to eligible veterans.
• Has met: Five times a year since.
• Membership: Dunedin geriatric medicine specialist Prof John Campbell (chairman), University of Otago cancer specialist Associate Prof Brian Cox, University of Otago pharmacology and internal medicine specialist Prof Timothy Maling, Wellington health law specialist Dr Marie Bismark, Auckland medical school head and former Royal New Zealand Navy medical services director Prof Des Gorman, Burwood Hospital brain injury rehabilitation service medical director Dr Alastair Macleod, Vietnam veteran and former national RSA president John Campbell, of Dunedin.
