A campaign to have a soldier who died saving others on Mount Ruapehu recognised with New Zealand’s highest award for bravery has been denied by the prime minister.

Retired colonel Bernard Isherwood had been pushing to have Private David Stewart recognised with the New Zealand Cross.

Stewart died trying to save others when a training exercise on Mount Ruapehu in August 1990 went wrong. Six people, including Stewart, died in the freezing conditions. He was awarded a posthumous New Zealand Bravery medal in 1999 and Isherwood had always believed the award should be upgraded to the highest honour.

But now Prime Minister Chris Hipkins had declined the request because he believed the decision was best made with the information available at the time.

Isherwood, who led the inquiry in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, last year met with then defence minister Peeni Henare to discuss upgrading the award, then submitted a nomination to the prime minister’s office.

But Isherwood recently received news from Defence Minister Andrew Little that Hipkins would not revisit the matter.

Little's letter said there had been a compelling case for a higher award, but Hipkins believed it was important decisions about these awards “were best made while all the relevant information was readily available, recall of the events was clear and the actions concerned could be considered against the standards and values of the time and other contemporary examples”.

“So for that reason he did not support any further steps to reconsider the level of award to New Zealand Defence Force personnel in relation to the Mount Ruapehu tragedy,” Little wrote.

Isherwood believed the New Zealand Defence Force was reluctant to revisit the issue because it was embarrassing and this had been reflected in the advice provided to the Government.

He said the men were abandoned by their instructors and the Defence Force on the mountain, and now had been abandoned by the Government.

“The two instructors responsible for the group lacked the necessary knowledge and skills and for differing reasons left the group to their own devices.

“As a result of this duty of care failure, six servicemen died and any further publicity is likely to have a significantly adverse impact on NZDF’s corporate reputation.”

Isherwood always maintained Stewart met the criteria and should be awarded the New Zealand Cross. He would keep campaigning for the award.

Isherwood didn’t accept Hipkins’ statement that the decision was best made when the relevant information was at hand, because Isherwood’s report from the inquiry contained the most relevant information.

“The inquiry was done within days of it happening, [featuring] all the survivors on the ice. How more current can you get it? ... All the evidence is right there.”

But the Defence Force said it provided information to the minister of defence and the decision was for the minister and the prime minister.