In accordance with section 15 of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 (“Act”), I hereby give the following notice.

Notice

1. I declare service:

• in the Sinai Peninsula of the Arab Republic of Egypt as defined, from 25 April 1982 up to and including 30 September 2024, to be operational service for the purposes of the Act.

  Sinai Peninsula – The Sinai Peninsula of the Arab Republic of Egypt is a triangle-shaped peninsula, defined by the boundaries of the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea to the south, the Gulf of Suez to the west, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the southeast. Its land borders with the Suez Canal to the west and the Israeli-Egyptian border to the northeast. This declaration covers all sovereign territories defined in NZDF operational orders for the Multinational Force and Observers.

2. I declare that the declaration for service in the Sinai Peninsula of the Arab Republic of Egypt will supersede the declaration for:

• Service in the Sinai Peninsula of the Arab Republic of Egypt as defined, from 25 April 1982 up to and including 30 September 2022, made on 18 August 2020 by the Honourable Ron Mark, Minister for Veterans.

3. This entitles any member of the New Zealand Defence Force covered by this declaration (and their spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner) to have their remains buried in the part of any cemetery set aside by a local authority for the burial of:

• members of His Majesty’s Forces that have undertaken operational service; and
• the spouses, civil union partners, and de facto partners of members of His Majesty’s Forces that have undertaken operational service.

4. Members of other Commonwealth Forces who have undertaken the same operational service and their spouses, civil union partners, and de facto partners may also be interred.

5. As required by the Act, consultation occurred prior to the making of this declaration.

Dated this 7th day of December 2022.

Hon MEKA WHAITIRI, Minister for Veterans.