Tim van de Molen: Recent challenges, future demands

In his inaugural Line of Defence article, National Party spokesperson for Defence and Veterans Tim van de Molen covers Operation Protect, Defence Assessment, Tonga response, and future demands on Defence.

Tim van de Molen is National Party spokesperson for Defence and Veterans and a former member of the New Zealand Army Reserve Forces. I am delighted to make my first contribution to Line of Defence as the National Party spokesperson for the Defence and Veterans portfolios. I consider it a huge privilege, but also a great responsibility, to have been named spokesperson for these portfolios and I hope to build on the good work done by my predecessor, Chris Penk, who retains an active interest in this area.

It is my intent to regularly contribute to this publication in order to share my views on current or potential challenges and opportunities within the broader defence domain. Any feedback on these contributions is most welcome and with that in mind, I also intend to reach out to key stakeholders across this portfolio to ensure I am as well informed as possible (though please feel free to reach out first and share your perspective on any relevant issues as they arise).

Defence is critical for New Zealand and my aim is to ensure we are proactive and well-positioned to deliver prompt and effective solutions in areas of importance for New Zealand.

By way of introduction I am the Member of Parliament for Waikato, having been first elected in 2017 and subsequently re-elected in 2020. Prior to this I had no real political involvement but rather came from a commercial and rural background, having been in business ownership, farming and rural banking during the 15 years prior to my election.

Alongside these careers I also enlisted in the NZ Army Territorials and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2010. It was my pleasure to serve as an Infantry Platoon Commander based in Hamilton on and off over the subsequent six years. This by no means makes me an expert in the Defence portfolio but rather I hope it demonstrates that I have a clear passion and interest for defence and will absolutely be giving this role 100%.

One of the largest issues I’ve been hearing about since stepping into this portfolio is the significant impact Operation Protect is having on our New Zealand Defence Force. Dealing with a global pandemic is a massive challenge for any government and I absolutely support the utilisation of Defence Force assets through the initial wave of the pandemic.

The ability of our Defence Force to rapidly stand up operational capability regardless of the threat is one of the key deliverables that we should always be testing ourselves against, so having Defence personnel manning our Managed Isolation and Quarantine facilities was appropriate at the start of the

Tim van de Molen as an Army Reservist. Image supplied

pandemic to facilitate the delivery of the government’s response in a timely fashion.

However, as the pandemic progressed and the playing field became clearer, it is my strong view that the government should then have been able to more appropriately resource their response through the private sector, at which point the Defence Force contribution should have been wound back, with a caveat of course that a ready response capability remained active for any significant variation arising from the pandemic and a subsequent government decision in relation to that.

Unfortunately, what we have seen is a government that has been too relaxed and too ready to rely primarily on the Defence Force rather than seeking alternatives. This complacency has placed a heavy burden on the NZDF such that its broader operational readiness has been adversely impacted, attrition rates have increased, morale has decreased and in my mind we are not focused on the priorities that our Defence Force should be.

I am relieved to see that with the more recent changes to the government’s response, primarily the wind down of MIQ facilities, there will be a much reduced need for NZDF involvement over the coming months and Op Protect will naturally wind down. I look forward to seeing the Defence Force then being able to refocus on what they should be doing rather than covering for the government on basic domestic duties.

The 2021 Defence Assessment was a significant paper and I was encouraged to see the honest and direct focus on issues within our region, issues which I strongly believe will need a more direct focus over the coming years to ensure our Defence Force enables New Zealand to play a leadership role within the Pacific domain.

I was very proud of the NZDF response to Tonga recently which saw us playing a key role from a humanitarian aid and disaster relief perspective following the volcanic eruption and subsequent earthquake and tsunami. These type of situations are exactly what we should be able to respond rapidly to across the Pacific or indeed at home as we saw recently on the West Coast of the South Island following heavy flooding.

Of course alongside this we must grow our ability to respond to non-natural threats such as those from state actors whose goals do not align with those of our own or our traditional partners. We have seen recently the impact of a state choosing to act aggressively in its neighbourhood with Russia invading Ukraine. It is vital that the New Zealand Defence Force is prepared to protect New Zealand and our close allies as the need may arise.

As we prepare for these future demands it is important that we continue to innovate and to look for opportunities to evolve or adapt our responses. I am very interested to see the role that our growing space industry may play in supporting our regional responses in particular.

We also need to consider Force design and structure as we move into an uncertain future. And what engagement, contribution or understanding the broader population should have with our Defence Force; are we maintaining or growing capability; and are we investing in the capital requirements to enable operational delivery of our priorities.

I look forward to exploring these considerations in more detail over the coming months and I would welcome suggestions or advice from readers with your diverse backgrounds in defence.

Ultimately my intent is to understand the key issues across the defence spectrum and provide credible policy solutions that as a future Minister of Defence, will enable our Defence Force to deliver effectively in its role.