Defence Minister Judith Collins with members of the New Zealand Defence Force at Sunday's announcement. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
The government's $2 billion spend on new naval helicopters is being welcomed by experts, but the opposition says other problems need just as much focus.
Defence Minister Judith Collins's pre-Budget announcement on Sunday revealed replacement of the Navy's Seasprite helicopters would be the first major expense from the $12 billion capability plan unveiled last month.
She also revealed a $957m spend from the Budget - separate from the capability plan - on Defence Force activities, personnel and property.
"As a maritime nation we are prioritising naval capability. The new helicopters will be able to go further and carry larger loads, including weapons, personnel and equipment - all of which is critical for Defence to protect New Zealand and New Zealanders," Collins said.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was a sensible approach, but similar levels of spending were needed in other areas like health, education and housing.
"I think the replacement of the Seasprite helicopters is necessary. We do rely on them for things like disaster recovery, for the provision of humanitarian aid, and I think ultimately it's good to see the government investing in them," he said.
"Replacement of the Seasprites is well and truly justified, but the government's clearly prioritising defence spending while offering austerity in areas like health, education and housing. I think New Zealanders need to see a similar level of commitment to investment in those areas.
"This is a government that scaled back hospital redevelopments, it scaled back school rebuilds, and has almost completely stopped building new state houses. Those are vital investments in New Zealand's future as well."
He said he was not in a position to judge the price-tag, but military procurement was different from the commercial sensitivity in the private sector in that prices were "fairly standard", so it was good to see the government being transparent about costs.
The Green Party's Defence spokesperson Teanau Tuiono called the military focus of the government's spending into question.
"Preparing for war is not how we build peace," he said, "We've been told by Nicola Willis that this upcoming budget is going to be an austerity budget, there's nothing in the bank do a lolly scramble - well someone's got all the lollies and it appears to be Judith Collins and David Seymour," he said.
Willis - the Finance Minister - last week revealed the 22 May Budget's operating allowance would be about $1.1 billion smaller than previously expected, but said it was not an austerity approach.
Tuiono called for a stronger focus on Pacific diplomacy and climate change mitigation, rather than spending up large on military hardware.
"Is that what the Pacific is asking us? That's a question I would have: have Pacific leaders told us they actually want us to get helicopters? What you often hear from them is that they want support around climate change.
"More can be done to support the Pacific and the focus needs to be on that relationship, and we've got to look at it in the context of the US up-sticks and leaving.
"That takes a lot of dialogue. It takes diplomacy. I don't think it means arming up."
University of Otago professor of international relations Robert Patman said New Zealand did need to do more on climate change, but disagreed that investing in defence was a preparation for war.
"In a world in which there is conflict, unfortunately, perception of weakness can make you a target and it's no secret that we've only been spending about 1 percent of GDP on defense for about two or three decades," he said.
"I think if you want an independent foreign policy you do need to have the capability to not only defend yourself but also to contribute to multilateral security operations. Most problems in the world today - particularly in the world of security, but also climate change and also economic problems - they don't respect borders.
"This defense announcement we've had doesn't signal a willingness to act unilaterally or even be part of some alignment of a great power. It signals, I think, a pragmatic recognition that since we basically rely on the multilateral system and we believe in the rules based order ... we do have to have the capability to contribute with others, to deal with problems that threaten that order."
He said the spending announcement was not only encouraging because it gave certainty over the helicopters' replacement, it was also signalling that the government was "very mindful that we're a maritime nation, and our maritime estate, so to speak - that exclusive economic zone around New Zealand - needs to be monitored".
"It's a form of insurance. You hope you don't have to use it, but... it's nice to have it in place, just in case something untoward or unexpected develops, and I think this is quite sensible policy making."
Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Studies director David Capie said the defence force had been under-invested in for decades, and in recent years had been unable to perform some of the tasks expected of it.
The helicopters were also essential, he said, for the Navy to be able to do what it needed to do - and the replacement of them was something that had been planned during the previous government's term.
"You need helicopters that can actually extend the effectiveness of our frigates and other vessels ... they're also likely to be bigger than the ones that the Navy currently operates, and so they'll also be capable to fulfil a number of other other roles, like search and rescue and humanitarian assistance and response."
He said the Seasprites had been "worked to the bone".
"We had eight helicopters, we've cut that back to five essentially to cannibalise the ones that we have, to keep them in the air ... it's another classic case of New Zealand is really running assets into the ground, it becomes more and more expensive to keep them operating, and so there are some things that just suddenly become urgent and really need to be addressed.
"So $2 billion is a lot, but this you also need to think that this is an investment over many decades of a future capability and it's part of an insurance policy that's vital for our nation's security."
At the announcement, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the focus was on ensuring NZDF had the personnel in place and bringing new assets into the system, and signalled defence could be a priority for additional new spending.
"If we have more money, if our economy is doing better, of course we'll tip more money into it as we go," he said.
"It comes from a place of us as a new government saying 'look, we cannot have economic prosperity without defence and security. We're living in an Indo-Pacific region that is more geostrategically contested and competitive. We see rising tensions through the world but also through our region.
"It's really important you don't just spout off with your values and your words, you've actually got to follow it up with some actions and some commitment."
A spokesperson for Judith Collins said all figures for the helicopter spending - and all other estimates from the Defence Capability Plan - would be subject to finalised business cases.
Exactly which model of helicopter would be chosen would also depend on the business case, but the $2b minimum set aside for them in the Budget would cover the cost of the helicopters themselves, as well as their operating costs for the first four years.
Collins told Morning Report on Monday the helicopter fleet was "so old it's not safe" and needed replacing to help patrol an enormous area. New Zealand patrolled the fourth largest search and rescue area in the world, she said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
