New Zealand has announced significant new spending on defence, aimed at lifting the total to 2 percent of GDP over the next eight years and taking the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) “out of intensive care,” according to Defence Minister Judith Collins.
Announcing the new Defence Capability Plan, Collins said the government would spend $12 billion (US$6.7 billion) over the next four years, $9 billion of which is new money.
“This blueprint has been designed with a 15-year horizon but deliberately focuses on critical investments needed in the next four years to ensure our Defence Force can adapt as the world around us changes,” she said, adding that the figure was “the floor, not the ceiling.”
The spend is sizeable for a country of New Zealand’s size and population.
Among the biggest expenditures are the replacement of the Royal NZ Navy’s fleet of maritime helicopters (estimated to cost over $2 billion), new armoured vehicles (between $600 million and $1 billion), and the replacement of the Royal NZ Airforce’s ageing Boeing 757 fleet (also estimated at between $600 million and $1 billion).
A frigate sustainment programme will provide additional maintenance and upgrades, at a cost of $300–$600 million, to extend the life of the frigates HMNZS Te Kaha and Te Mana into the early 2030s.
Not all of the spending is on upgrading traditional equipment—there’s also money for uncrewed inflatable boats, drones, and long-range aircraft, and a further $300–$600 million earmarked for “space capabilities,” which means accessing surveillance and real-time battlefield data rather than warfare.
Sometime before 2028, an Information Warfare Academy will be established, to train NZDF personnel for an age where wars are fought in the digital as well as the real world.
A major focus of the plan is increased interoperability with Australia.
Both countries have committed to modernising their alliance and further strengthening the bilateral defence relationship to create a “force multiplier,” Collins said, leading to the development of what she called “a more greatly integrated ‘ANZAC’ force.”
The Defence Capability Plan also re-commits New Zealand to continue to protect the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau.
Protecting New Zealand From Adversaries
At a joint press conference launching the plan, Collins and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon denied the plan was “targeted at any one country.”But when asked for examples of the danger, Collins, citing specifics, said: “Distance, certainly, is no longer any protection for New Zealand—not when we have an intercontinental ballistic missile launched in the Pacific, not when ships with enormous strike power come into our backyard.”
Both those examples refer to actions by Beijing.
The plan itself lists threats to New Zealand’s national security and names Russia for its “continuing illegal war against Ukraine and blatant disregard for international law.”
It also says China’s “assertive pursuit of its strategic objectives” is the “principal driver for strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.”
Beijing “continues to use all of its tools of statecraft in ways that can challenge both international norms of behaviour and the security of other states. Of particular concern is the rapid and non-transparent growth of China’s military capability,” the plan says.
The replacement of the 757s, new maritime helicopters, and a Southern Ocean patrol vessel had all been flagged for replacement within similar timeframes in Labour’s 2019 capability plan.
The former government had also announced the extension of the frigates’ lifespan at that time.
Whether that’s feasible remains in doubt, however, with Defence Force chief Air Marshal Tony Davies telling media earlier this week that the ships were still capable of performing valuable work but, “If you go right down to the skeleton of the ship, they are pretty tired now.”
NZDF Strike ‘An Operational Matter’: Collins
At the same time, the NZDF is planning to cut 374 roles from the civilian workforce, on top of the reduction of 144 civilian workers last year through voluntary redundancy.In response to those civilian workers announcing strike action, Collins formally told Parliament she is allowing uniformed personnel to fill in—described as an “extraordinary power” under the Defence Act.
Uniformed staff are not permitted to strike and will provide security and airfield firefighting services while their non-uniformed colleagues seek a pay rise.
Labour defence spokesperson David Parker said the government had chosen to underfund the defence budget, and the NZDF was down about 1,200 staff, so it was unsurprising that civilian staff, “faced with an offer of a zero increase ... chose to instead issue a strike notice.”
He said the use of extraordinary power “is unusual and should only occur in exceptional circumstances.”
Collins responded that the strikes were an “operational matter” and she had “full confidence in the chief of Defence Force and his leadership team; I expect them to get on with their job.”
Fleur Fitzsimons, national secretary of the Public Service Association, accused Luxon of hypocrisy in announcing “huge investment in equipment and technology without any recognition of the critical role the NZDF civilian workforce plays in ensuring our military is combat ready.
“How can Defence Minister Judith Collins say today that the military ‘cannot do their jobs without the right equipment and conditions’ and make no mention of what civilian workers do?” Fitzsimons asked.
She said New Zealand’s highly skilled civilian workforce, including engineers, mechanics, and software experts, is crucial for keeping equipment and systems ready, ensuring the military can respond to threats.
“These cuts should never have been unveiled before the Defence Capability plan was announced. It’s all about face and will undermine the very intent of this investment.”
