Phil Goff squeezing tomato sauce from the CALM fundraising sauce sachet on to his fish and chips at the 2006 Landmine monitor launch.

The New Zealand Launch was held at the Beehive in Parliament Buildings at 0600 hrs GMT on 13 September 2006. We took the opportunity not only to launch LM 2006 but also to launch an Appeal for funds for the British Mine Action Group who are now clearing landmines and unexploded cluster munitions in Lebanon.

Speeches

The CALM Convenor, David Zwartz welcomed guests and in his speech talked about the Report and confirmed that the information in this report was exhaustively checked and referenced and this provided an outstanding example of how an NGO can provide verification for an international treaty. He drew the Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control, Hon Phil Goff’s attention to the drop in Mine Action funding by the New Zealand Government quoting from the LM page 81 and asked the Minister for an assurance that this drop in funding will be corrected. However he went on to say that he acknowledged with gratitude, the support every New Zealand Government has given to CALM and the work of the New Zealand Defence Force that has been supporting demining in many of the world’s worst-affected countries. David Zwartz concluded by noting The Government’s strong stand on controls for cluster munitions and said that as their effect was as damaging and distressing as anti-personnel mines, their use should be made “as unacceptable as the use of anti-personnel mines”.

The keynote speaker was the Minister, Hon Phil Goff, but before he began his prepared speech he said that the reported drop in funding of NZ$ 1.3 was because a number of demining operations had come to an end. This would be fully corrected in the coming year and that the Government fully supported not only the full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty but also the work of CALM and the ICBL.
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