Ron Mark

The Minister for Veteran Affairs, Ron Mark, says he supports – with trepidation – unclaimed war medals being returned to whānau -- but he says the process needs to be incredibly robust.

Seventy-five… Audio

Defence Minister Ron Mark says soldiers will bring more authority to quarantine facilities, which security guards have lacked.

He is welcoming the deployment of more soldiers at the managed isolation… Audio

As hundreds more soldiers begin to move out to isolation hotels around the country, New Zealand First is calling for the Defence Force to play an even greater role.

The call on the military - and on… Audio

A former soldier left a tetraplegic due to a Defence Force failure has been given a formal apology and compensation 31 years after the incident.

George Nepata received a formal apology this morning… Audio

It was an early morning in Devonport yesterday, as HMNZS Aotearoa was officially commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy. The half-a-billion dollar logistics support vessel travelled from South… Video, Audio

The army is getting an upgrade with the purchase of 43 Bushmaster armoured vehicles. They can fit and protect up to ten army personnel and are expected to be used both in New Zealand and overseas. Our… Video, Audio

Navy staff at the Devonport Base have welcomed their newest recruit - the HMNZS Aotearoa. 

Measuring the length of two rugby fields and costing more than $500 million, Navy staff say the boat is… Video, Audio

The man now in charge of the isolation and quarantine system has declined to be interviewed on Morning Report.

Air Commodore Digby Webb is expected to hold a news conference later today.

Defence… Audio

Defence Force personnel are guarding an Auckland hotel where two women who have since tested positive for Covid-19 were in managed isolation.

A person in a Navy uniform has been stationed outside the… Audio

Green Party co-leader and government minister James Shaw admits he's always disappointed in New Zealand First, after RNZ revealed the coalition partner won't support Auckland light rail before the… Audio

New Zealand First is calling for an independent review into the arming of frontline police officers with military-grade assault rifles.

Semi-automatics are routinely stored in a lock box in patrol… Audio

Peace activists say New Zealand shouldn't send a ship to take part in a major war games exercise off the coast of Hawaii.

The Rim of the Pacific exercise - or Rimpac - is the world's largest… Audio

A petition and weekend of action is planned to protest New Zealand's involvement in a major naval exercise in Hawaii in August. The Rim of the Pacific exercise - or Rimpac, is the world's largest… Audio

The government is committing to buying more than $1.5 billion dollars-worth of new planes for the Defence Force.

It is purchasing five new Lockheed Martin Super Hercules to replace the outdated 1960s… Audio

Winston Peters has a track record of using music as a diversion.

Yesterday as he ducked and dived media questions over a Serious Fraud Office investigation, he once again resorted to a musical… Audio

The Defence Minister has asked for a national fire risk assessment as bush fires rage in Australia. Ron Mark says there's nothing to prevent large-scale blazes from also happening in New Zealand. It… Audio

The details of New Zealand's Pacific Reset have been fleshed out by a range of defence announcements. Audio

With a stroke of a pen, Defence Minister Ron Mark has overruled an Environment Court decision on noise restrictions for plane engine testing at Auckland's Whenuapai Airbase.

The developer, Neil… Video, Audio

Hundreds of thousands of dollars set aside by the government to support Vietnam veterans and their families is going unspent.

The government has budgeted $1.1 million a year for the past three years… Audio

New Zealand has declined a request from NATO to join a mission in Iraq, working with its Defence Ministry to help rebuild Iraq's military institutions.

NATO's Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg… Audio