P8, HMNZS Manawanui, and now C-130J. What’s next?

The coalition government has been delivering on its plans, writes Defence Minister Hon Ron Mark, and will make it a priority to deliver against Defence Capability Plan 2019. Next task: delivering a much improved Defence estate.

Recently I had the honour of launching the Coalition Government’s Defence Capability Plan 2019. It’s an ambitious document that prioritises our Defence spending to meet the challenges identified in our Strategic Defence Policy Statement.

The feedback I’ve received on the Plan has been overwhelmingly positive and reflects the importance most New Zealanders place on our Defence Force.

Launching the plan came after a long policy process which began with the Government’s Strategic Defence Policy Statement which was launched last year. That document laid out the challenges we, as a nation, are facing. It also laid out the responsibility NZDF has when serving its community, the nation and the world.

We followed that up with an indepth look at the security implications which are posed by climate change. This work has been very well received by our international partners, particularly those in the Pacific, who are seeing first-hand the effects climate change is having on their communities.

Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence.

As I often say, I’m not here to argue the causes of climate change, I’m here to help the Government respond to what is happening and the effect it is having on communities. It was with this policy work in mind that we began our review of the previous Government’s Defence Capability Plan.

Then Minister of Defence Hon Gerry Brownlee had identified that around $20b would be needed to invest in capital purchases for the Defence Force out to 2030. In our Coalition negotiations New Zealand First sought a reassurance from Labour that this would be protected, and they agreed.

Our next step was to analyse the platforms and capabilities identified in the Plan and to adjust them where needed to ensure our capital purchases provide the capabilities we need to meet the challenges laid out in the Strategic Defence Policy Statement.

The result is what you see in the Defence Capability Plan 2019, it includes:

• Enhanced sealift vessels

• Satellite surveillance capability

• Southern Ocean patrol vessels

• An increase in the size of the Army

• Long range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for surveillance

... and much more. Also identified in the plan, as the highest priority, is a replacement for the C130 Hercules which have served our nation well for over 50 years.

Tactical airlift is a vital part of any military and there is general agreement from all sides of politics that this is a good thing. Why it has not been replaced by now is beyond me.

So it was an incredibly proud moment to be able to announce, on the same day as the release of the Defence Capability Plan, that the Government has identified the C130-J Super Hercules as our replacement for our current fleet.

We are now moving into the FMS phase, and the deal will be completed before the end of this term of Government.

This announcement is on the back of our decision to purchase the P8 Poseidon aircraft as a replacement for our P3-K Orion fleet.

The P8 purchase was booked in Budget 2019, and if you were taking notice you would have seen this Budget provided an historic $2.175b boost to Defence. There are two more capital purchases identified in that Budget, including new Navigation and Communications systems for the Air Force, and an Army initiative which I will announce in due course.

Between Budget 2019 and the launch of the Capability Plan, we commissioned the new Dive and Hydrographic vessel HMNZS Manawanui, bringing this vital capability back online three years earlier than planned.

It’s one thing to have a Capability Plan, it’s another thing to deliver against that plan, and this is what the Coalition Government is doing. We are backing up our plans with actions and making it clear we back our Defence Force. This is incredibly important and personal for me. I know first-hand what it’s like to deploy overseas with poor and outdated equipment.

Since taking over the role as Minister of Defence I have made it my mission to ensure our women and men in uniform have the right equipment to do the job our Government asks of them, so that they in turn can complete that task with distinction and, above all, come home safe.

This is why the Capability Plan is so important. I will continue to make it my priority to deliver against this plan. My next task is to deliver a much improved Defence estate. I hope to be able to tell you more in my next column.