The Government will not pay compensation to two brothers who received life changing injuries in the Defence Force.
George Nepata was left a tetraplegic after an accident during a training exercise in Singapore in 1989, while his brother Damien received burns to 40 per cent of his body in 1994 when the tank he was driving crashed, rolled and caught fire in Waiouru.
The Maori Affairs Select Committee unanimously recommended the brothers get compensation further to that provided by the Superannuation Fund and ACC.
But the Defence Minister, Jonathan Coleman, has rejected that recommendation, saying that if he were to allow the compensation, it would open the floodgates for other soldiers injured in similar circumstances.
