“The East Timor Crisis is a poignant reminder of just how run down New Zealand Defence forces are,” said Lt Col (Retd) John Bryant, Christian Heritage Party Spokesperson on Defence.

“A few days ago we saw the strange spectacle of the Minister of Defence saying that we could not immediately send any troops to East Timor because our Defence Forces were committed to supporting APEC. The thrust of the matter, however, is even more shocking. New Zealand’s Defence Forces are so run down both in terms of manpower and equipment, that even if the Government were not conducting a bun-fight and media crisis such as APEC, our troops are in no fit state to be deployed anywhere without being a logistical and security burden on someone else.”

“It is also intriguing to listen to the squawks from the political left now suddenly coming out of the closet to urge the Government to instantly send in our troops to East Timor. Are these the same people who propose savagely cutting and emasculating our armed forces?”

ENDS

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