Labour's Defence spokesperson Andrew Little announces the party's policy to have Defence Force pay rates set independently of the government, flanked by current Labour MPs Dan Rosewarne (L) and Tangi Utikere (R). Photo: RNZ / Anna Sargent
Labour is promising to make it so Defence Force (NZDF) pay rates are set independently of the government, and review the Defence Act.
The party's Defence spokesperson Andrew Little announced the policy at a Returned and Services' Association club in Rangiora on Wednesday morning, saying having the Remuneration Authority set personnel pay rates was "only fair".
"As I found this year when I picked up the [Defence Minister] role actually serving personnel can go for periods of time where they don't get pay increases or they don't get much of a pay increase, and what we found is by the beginning of this year their pay and conditions lagged comparable roles elsewhere in the community. That shouldn't be the case.
"For a workforce ... who cannot organise, cannot bargain, cannot negotiate, then we have to have a better mechanism to make sure that their pay and conditions are keeping pace."
The Remuneration Authority already sets the pay rates for chiefs of the Defence Force, Air Force, Army and Navy. Little said the party would ensure there was someone in the Authority which had at least one person with a background or connection to Defence work.
Little said Labour would also carry out the first review of the Defence Act in more than 30 years.
While the Ministry of Defence carries out a detailed review of the Defence Force, strategy and investments every three years, the law itself has remained relatively unchanged.
"Circumstances are different today than they were in 1990 when the current legislation was passed. A critical principle is to make sure that civilian oversight of our military is strong and the legislation meets that purpose."
However, asked what specific concerns he had with the legislation, Little said it was "more just about, that legislation was conceived in 1990 or the late 1980s, conditions were different then, the civilian oversight powers were irrelevant to what was in place then".
He said the minister and chief of defence force and senior officers also needed to be confident the rules they were operating under was fit for purpose.
He highlighted the Labour government's investments in the NZDF over the past six years, including pay increases for personnel and new recruits of between $4000 and $15,000 - the largest in a decade - and shoring up ageing fleet and bases.
"Labour's $4.7 billion capital investment over six years is double what National did in nine. Our defence forces now has new Poseidon aircraft, upgraded frigates and a new vessel protecting our seas, a new Bushmaster vehicle fleet, and new Super Hercules aircraft on the way," he said.
The party's Waimakariri candidate Dan Rosewarne is a former military officer and said the NZDF "has been and remains a special place for me, I enlisted in the army at the age of 18 and the New Zealand Defence Force did so much for me as a young man".
He thanked the RSA for the services provided to him.
"After being diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago after coming back from Afghanistan, it was the RSA that reached out to me ... they were there for me in my time of need."
Labour's Tangi Ukitere currently represents Palmerston North, which houses New Zealand's largest army camp Linton and is close to the Ōhakea Air Base.
He said after the pay rise for personnel, he got thanks from one soldier, "but more memorably for me, I recall the thanks that came from his wife ... for finally recognising the value that our community place on the work that her husband does".
