{"id":396593,"date":"2026-04-25T05:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/396593\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T05:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:55:14","slug":"who-is-supposed-to-support-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/396593\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is supposed to support veterans?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across South Auckland, the Returned and Services Association is changing fast, but one key question remains: Who is actually responsible for supporting veterans?<\/p>\n

By Taelegalolo’u Mary Afemata, Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

That now depends heavily on where they live and what model their local RSA follows.<\/p>\n

At the Papatoetoe RSA, Anzac Day is one of its busiest and most important days of the year. But manager Adele Stone says day-to-day engagement is much lower.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the community as a whole only thinks of RSA on Anzac,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The club has more than 500 members, but only about 50 attended regularly, most of them older members.<\/p>\n

\"Papatoetoe<\/p>\n

Papatoetoe RSA manager Adele Stone says many RSA are now run largely by associate members due to a decline in veteran membership. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

Stone said this reflected a wider shift across the RSA network.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince associate members have been coming in, you\u2019ll find now that most RSA are actually run by the associate members now because there\u2019s not enough veterans left,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot more to offer than just popping up once a year for Anzac Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Veterans\u2019 Affairs New Zealand provides national support and entitlements, it does not run local RSA clubs.<\/p>\n

The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association says each RSA operates independently and is expected to adapt to its own community.<\/p>\n

Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Daniel Newman said welfare support for veterans sits primarily with Veterans\u2019 Affairs New Zealand, while councils focus on commemorative services and maintaining memorial sites.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A poppy mural marks the entrance to Papatoetoe RSA as preparations are underway for Anzac Day. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

\u201cRSA Clubs continue to have an important role in guiding commemorative services, especially dawn services,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council’s primary role in relation to veterans is to be a constructive partner as it relates to commemorative services; and we need to maintain our cenotaphs, veterans’ graves across the council’s network of cemeteries; and we must support the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which is iconic.\u201d<\/p>\n

In South Auckland, where Pacific communities have a long history of military service, Manukau ward councillor Alf Filipaina said those contributions must not be forgotten.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pacific that came over to serve with our Anzacs, with New Zealand, they still need to be acknowledged,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Filipaina said RSA remain an important place for remembrance, particularly for younger generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the sacrifices that our soldiers made in the wars, whether they be Vietnam, World War I, World War II, or any other conflict. It gives us the opportunity to acknowledge those who paid the ultimate sacrifice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, if you had no RSA and everything was like the [Cosmopolitan] Club and the bar and the pub, we wouldn’t, where would we acknowledge the sacrifices that New Zealanders and Pacific people made during all the conflicts? Where do we do that?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s why the RSA are so relevant, because it still has an opportunity for our community, in particular our rangatahi, to end up recognising that this is the reason why we do this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Manurewa Veterans Support Centre operates as a service-based hub, reflecting a shift away from the traditional RSA club model. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

While Papatoetoe reflected the challenge of maintaining traditional RSA clubs, Manurewa has taken a different approach.<\/p>\n

The former RSA has transitioned into a veterans\u2019 support centre, operating without alcohol or gaming and focusing on practical services.<\/p>\n

President and veteran Clifford James McMahon said the change followed years of financial losses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were trading at a loss for nine years,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have come to the realisation that what was happening was morally, ethically and financially wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all about support. A lot of RSA are about welfare, which is a handout. We do support, which is a hand up. It\u2019s more than a technicality, it\u2019s what we believe in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you keep going, you’re no better than a booze bar,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Board chair of the Royal New Zealand RSA, Rhys Jones, said there was no single approach that fits every club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important measure for any RSA is whether it is effectively supporting veterans in its community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth approaches are valid, and both contribute to supporting veterans. There is no single model that fits every RSA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pacific veterans connected to the Manurewa RSA were approached for comment but did not respond.<\/p>\n

Veterans\u2019 Affairs New Zealand was also approached for comment.<\/p>\n

\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across South Auckland, the Returned and Services Association is changing fast, but one key question remains: Who is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[200759,51,111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-396593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-anzac-day","9":"tag-auckland","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}