31 Jan 2015

Group welcomes nuclear test veteran compo

4:36 pm on 31 January 2015

The New Zealand Nuclear Test Veterans group says Fiji's decision to compensate its nuclear test veterans will encourage others still fighting for recognition.

President Roy Sefton said he was pleased for the 24 surviving Fijian veterans of the British Christmas Island tests of the 1950s, who had missed out on years of pensions and entitlements.

He said New Zealand nuclear veterans already had access to war pensions and medical costs from their Government, but he hopes the Fijian move would bolster further claims.

Mr Sefton said veterans' families continued to lobby the New Zealand Government for better support for their children, who they believed suffered genetic damage from their fathers' radiation exposure.