MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Use Wednesday 18 2001

MARK WELCOMES TROOPS’ PAY RISE: BUT WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG?

New Zealand First has welcomed the announcement of a pay rise for Defence Force personnel but doubts that it will significantly deal with recruitment and retention problems.

“If it only took this much ($18m in the next financial year) to fix, why did it take so long?” spokesman Ron Mark has asked.

“While I am pleased for our service personnel that the government has at last taken action one has to wonder if it is too little too late. An average 5% pay rise won’t solve the personnel problem, 5% of very little is still nothing much, Mr Mark said

“The big defence questions remain unanswered. As long as our country’s defence strategy remains unclear and while our forces are poorly equipped and supported we cannot expect significant improvements in morale, or in recruitment or retention” Mr Mark said.

ENDS

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