A man who received horrific injuries in a botched army exercise will finally receive compensation.
George Nepata is a tetraplegic after an accident during a training exercise in Singapore in 1989 and has been fighting for compensation ever since.
The Government has now approved compensation and a formal apology.
On Tuesday, Defence Minister Ron Mark said in a statement the NZDF failed to provide Nepata with a safe system of work when the incident happened.
He said he hopes the decision provides some level of closure for Nepata and his whānau.
"I formally apologise to George Nepata on behalf of the Government and the New Zealand Defence Force for the New Zealand Defence Force's failure to provide him with a safe system of work and the 31 years he has struggled with his tetraplegia.
"This apology reflects the fact that as a junior soldier George was obliged to obey the commands of his superiors during the exercise and had no opportunity to challenge the conduct of the exercise."
In 2018, Mark confirmed to The Hui he would have officials re-examine the case. Nepata and his brother Damien, who also suffered extensive third-degree burns during a separate training exercise in 1994. Damien's case, however, was not mentioned in Tuesday's formal apology.
The brothers took their case to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2016.
"This is an issue I've continued to raise over the past 20 years - I've felt strongly that the Government has had a moral obligation to address this and I’m pleased there has finally been a resolution," Mark said on Tuesday.
"I hope this apology from the Government and New Zealand Defence Force, and the ex gratia payment, will help George to continue to make the best of the situation, as he has done for so long."
The payment takes into consideration the reimbursement of legal costs, representative damages, lost earnings and personal opportunities, and whānau support provided to George since the accident. The exact payment won't be made public at request of the Nepata family.
