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New Zealand's Vietnam war vets to sue

New Zealand war veterans plan to sue the government claiming NZ$5 billion (US$3.65 billion) for exposure to the deadly defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, the Sunday News said.

It said the lawsuit would claim that consecutive governments and officials since 1962 have been guilty of "malfeasance" -- breaking the law and bringing harm to others while in office -- and failing to provide duty of care.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, four former prime ministers, ex-ministers and governors general are all targeted in the suit, the paper reported.

The veterans have hired Australian law firm Slater and Gordon, which two years ago won NZ$1.5 billion from James Hardie Industries for clients affected by asbestos poisoning.

Agent Orange was used by US forces during the Vietnam conflict to deprive enemy forces of jungle cover and destroy food crops. It contained dioxin, a chemical linked to a variety of diseases and which veterans have blamed for a spate of birth deformities, including babies with brain damage and shortened limbs.

In December, Veterans' Affairs Minister Rick Barker told the vets they would get compensation.

Ex-gratia payments would be made to those with certain medical conditions, the spouses of veterans with these conditions who had died, and children who have suffered adverse health effects as a result of their fathers' exposure to the toxic environment in Vietnam.

However, Radio New Zealand quoted Vietnam Veterans Action Group chairman Brett Bullians as saying current compensation programs helped only a small portion of veterans and their families.

Some vets were concerned they would not get compensation because they had conditions not considered to have been caused by Agent Orange.
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