Malcolm Wallace, the former president of the Rangiora RSA, has taken over the reins of the vice-president of the national RSA and says he’s looking forward to the challenges the role presents.
‘‘We have a very good president in Tony Hill of Cambridge, my role is to support him, to step up when he needs me to, and to act as a conduit of information between the 180+ associations, their members and him and vice-versa. To keep him informed about what the members are seeking and the things that need to be addressed.’’
Known simply as the RSA, it is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world.
Like many historical associations, it is suffering from declining membership.
‘‘We’re all getting older, our average age is in the 70s now,’’ said Malcolm.
‘‘They belong here, it’s their RSA too.
‘‘In New Zealand, there are now more young veterans who have served since Vietnam than all the other veterans of conflicts who served before 1975.
‘‘We are their RSA, and we need to make a concerted effort to reach out and connect with them, to show what we can offer them now and in the future.’’
‘‘We need to get fresh blood into the senior management positions in the associations' many executives. The young people of today’s services look at things a whole lot differently than those of us who served 30, 40or even 50years ago. The decisions they will make concern the future of service people, whether it be locally or nationally, medically or financially,’’ he says.
He credits the increasing attraction of Anzac Day in recent years with the growing interest in the history of this nation and the RSA.
‘‘There were over 7000 at this year's Anzac Day parade in Rangiora, it was amazing seeing all the people there. That interest in our nation's history is driving a renewed interest in the RSAs and also helping all the men and women who have served in the country and for their country, on overseas deployments.’’
Ian (Blue) Caldwell, a NZ Army Infantry and Vietnam veteran, will take over Malcolm’s role as president of Rangiora RSA.
Blue says one of the more pressing problems facing ex-service personnel is being recognised for their service by Veteran Affairs.
He and Malcolm say it is something RSA associations around the country are fighting strongly for now. They want recognition for those who didn’t get to serve overseas.
‘‘When you join, you tell the Government you’re ready to serve anywhere they send you, but it takes a lot of people back here in New Zealand to make it possible for those few who did go and serve overseas in areas of conflict over the past fifty years, and yet the VA legislation struggles to recognise their service, it has to change and that’s what we are all working towards,’’ said Malcolm.
