Poroporoaki : Private Kirifi Mila

Aue taukiri e! Kei te hotuhotu te manawa, kei te tangi te ngākau, kei te heke te roimata.

E te uri ō Hamoa, e te whanaunga ō te Moana Nui ā Kiwa, e te ringa kaha ō Tūmatauenga.

Haere, haere, hoki atu rā e tama.

We share, with all parties in this House, the heavy grief that has fallen over Aotearoa today, with the sad loss of Private Kirifi Mila in the far away lands of Afghanistan.

We recognise the pain that such news brings to the greater Armed Forces, and in particular the colleagues of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment based in Burnham Military Camp. Private Mila was known as a colourful character, a popular member of that team, who will be greatly missed.

The loss of Private Mila while he was travelling as part of a four-vehicle humanitarian patrol in Afghanistan was revealed to us, while the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Julia Gillard spoke to us in this House, of the ANZAC spirit. We think of that spirit now, and all those who have fallen serving on our behalf on foreign shores.

Finally, our thoughts return to his family – and in particular his brother who was serving by his side in Afghanistan and we offer our aroha to his colleagues who were injured in that same accident.

The death of a loved one is always hard to bear, but to be so far away at such a terrible time brings with it an even greater sense of tragedy.

Our most sincere sympathies go out to the family and to the wider community of the armed forces on this day of such sadness.

Ua malie toa, malie tau.

To honour a fight, a fight well fought.