Hon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Well, it is actually with a great deal of pleasure that I rise to speak in reply to the Prime Minister's statement. It has been a very good couple of years, and particularly the last year has been very good for the New Zealand Defence Force. And, might I add, it has been very, very good for the nation as a whole—in particular for our communities and for our nation because of the huge level of support that the Defence Force has been able to lend to communities at various times, when they have been under stress and when they have been suffering the effects of nature.