Let them be Clothed with Shame and Dishonour

"Sunday's dawn raid on the War Memorial pillars in Greymouth is bereft of both the courage and tactical skill demonstrated by those whose names were inscribed on the pillars they took", said ACT National Security spokesman Heather Roy.

"In strictly military terms, a raid is a show of force by one side but one that lacks the resources or abilities to push their case any further. The insensitivity exhibited at dawn on Sunday lacked any of the precision or bravery required of such an act.

"While freedom to live your life as you choose, was undoubtedly on our departing troops' minds, I doubt that the men and women of New Zealand's Expeditionary Forces put their lives on the line for a shopping centre; or so that others could move ANZAC memorials on a whim, said Mrs Roy.

"The moral bankruptcy demonstrated by those who perpetrated this act of defilement puts them in the same gutter as the thieves that raided the Army Museum late last year and took many of our bravest soldiers' medals.

"However, the people who took Greymouth's tribute to the fallen and cast them in some corner of a foreign field have significantly underestimated the fighting will of ordinary Kiwi citizens. I support the Mayor, RSA President and all the citizens of Greymouth in their fight for the return and dignified resurrection of this tribute to our fallen comrades," Mrs Roy said.

Ka whawhai tonu matou ake ake ake

We will fight on forever, ever and ever