Today I accompanied Prime Minister John Key to attend the funeral of Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Flight Sergeant Andrew Forster at Ohakea.

A member of the RNZAF for 27 years, Flight Sergeant Forster was killed last week in an accident at Waiouru Army Camp. He leaves behind wife Karen and children Candice, Mitchell and Ashley.

This is an incredibly sad time for the RNZAF and the New Zealand Defence Force. Flight Sergeant Forster had participated in exercises in Australia and Singapore, had been deployed to the United Arab Emirates and had recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan's Bamyan province with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. His death is a salient reminder of the dangers that our troops face on a daily basis both at home and abroad.

A consummate professional in everything he did, Flight Sergeant Forster was popular and held in high esteem by his superiors and his colleagues. He was a tireless mentor to those who worked for and with him, and he is remembered as always being patient with his subordinates and for always having their interests at heart.

Equally he is remembered as a wonderful family man, who balanced his commitments to both work and family to ensure that both were taken care of. Times like this serve to remind us that it is not just our servicemen and women who serve our country, but also the families - wives, children, siblings, parents - whose hearts are also on the line when they give one of their own to the NZDF family. My thoughts, and those of my colleagues - not just in ACT, but across all Parties in Parliament - are with Flight Sergeant Forster's family in this time of sorrow.