The late Sir Wira Gardiner's aggressive, malignant brain tumour was ruled the result of exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical herbicide used by the US military during the Vietnam war. Photo: Oranga Tamariki
An extra $3.2 billion increase in the government's liability for veterans' support was the only case of unallocated spending in the first six months of the current financial year, a report from the Auditor-General's office says.
It has released its latest controller update, which is the last under Auditor-General John Ryan.
The report said the office had a key controller role, checking whether government spending was properly authorised and within the law.
It said government spending in the first six months of the 2024/25 year was properly authorised and within the law, apart from a $3.2b increase in liability for veterans' support.
In October last year, the Veterans' Entitlements Appeal Board backed [ a claim by the late Sir Wira Gardiner that his glioblastoma brain tumour must be treated as a defence service-related condition due to exposure to Agent Orange.
Tā Harawira served as an infantry platoon commander in Vietnam from June 1969 to May 1970.
The board accepted he had been exposed to Agent Orange, similar to a case several years earlier of another New Zealand veteran William Kenyon, whose brain tumour was accepted as linked to that exposure.
"In both cases, the time lag between exposure to Agent Orange and the diagnosis of glioblastoma was over 40 years," the ruling said.
It has not been established that dioxin had a causative or contributory connection with glioblastoma, "but such a connection cannot be ruled out".
The Auditor-General's office said that would affect future claims, by broadening veterans' access to entitlements, which could have a cost of $3.2 billion.
Only $12 million had been authorised because the effect of the ruling was not anticipated.
The Auditor-General's report said it was the largest single instance of unappropriated expenditure it had identified to date.
"A $3.2 billion revaluation of the veterans' disability entitlements was reported in the November 2024 interim financial statements of the government.
"Although the New Zealand Defence Force is updating and implementing new procedures to reflect High Court guidance and the Appeal Board's decision, it is appealing the decision to seek clarification about how the Veterans' Support Act 2014 should be interpreted."
The report said it had also been looking at scope statements, which determine what the government can and cannot spend public money on.
"Given its importance in controlling public spending, the scope statement wording must be clear and unambiguous.
"It needs to be specific enough to be verifiable so that the Controller can determine, on behalf of Parliament, whether expenditure is within or outside the scope of the appropriation."
But it said some scope statements were vague, some were catch-alls that seemed designed to cover anything else that wasn't already specified and some were overlapping.
"We have looked at whether Parliament has clarity about the scope of spending that the government seeks authority for and seen scope statements that we consider inadequate. Because of this, we will carry out a more comprehensive review during 2025."
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