Richard Prosser
Associate Spokesperson for Defence

09 March 2012

New Zealand First says the latest round of Defence redundancies coupled with the adoption of the cutbacks and other restructuring heralded in the 2010 Defence White Paper reveals a level of incompetence in Government defence planning unseen since the late 1930s.

Associate Defence spokesperson Richard Prosser was responding to the release of figures showing that both morale and retention were at an all time low in the New Zealand Defence Force.

“Service personnel across all three branches of the military are seeking other employment or leaving for the better pay and equipment on offer in overseas military forces and private security firms.”

Mr Prosser said it was farcical that the Defence Force was forced to hire back staff it had laid off because no one else could be found to fill their roles.

“The NZDF’s own decision to end the process of civilianisation because of its damaging effects on morale is proof that the Government’s policies and priorities are wrong and are not working.

“Since the disbandment of the RNZAF strike wing in 2002, and the downsizing of the Navy, successive Governments have failed to realise that the NZDF is not seen as a credible career option by many service people, and this lack of credibility has had, and continues to have, a deleterious effect on recruitment and retention,” Mr Prosser said.

Mr Prosser said that it was incomprehensible that the Defence Force should be attempting to recruit new staff in Britain and other countries while it was downsizing and laying off staff in New Zealand.

“New Zealand needs credible military forces with a breadth of capabilities suited to our environment, and an acceptance that the risks we face are increasing, rather than diminishing,” he said.

ENDS