A capable Defence Force, and an independent nation
A reformed procurement system will deliver better value, and independence, writes Labour Party Spokesperson for Defence Hon Damien O’Connor MP.
Congratulations to Line of Defence on reaching your 40th issue and ten years covering this sector. For a small country, we have an outsized stake in getting defence and security right, and a magazine that takes it seriously does the country a quiet service.
I’ve spent a long time in public life, and I’m sure of one thing: New Zealanders value their security most when they least have to think about it. That’s the goal. But we don’t get to take it for granted any longer, and pretending otherwise would be a disservice to the men and women we ask to defend us.
The world has changed. The global arms race has been reignited. We’re now talking seriously about autonomous weapons and conflict waged from, and in, space. Closer to home, the strategic environment across the Indo-Pacific is more contested than at any point in my time in Parliament. Sitting back and doing nothing is not an option.
New Zealand’s foremost line of defence has always been a stable and secure region. We are a long way from most of the world’s trouble, but not immune to it, and our prosperity depends on sea lanes, trade routes and a rules-based order that bigger powers can be tempted to ignore. That’s why our security is best advanced through engagement, not isolation. A credible Defence Force and an active, independent foreign policy aren’t alternatives. They’re two halves of the same job.
“We see real opportunity in deepening the partnerships we already have. Australia is our only formal ally, and strengthening integration with the ADF is the natural priority.“
That independence matters to us. Labour will hold firmly to our nuclear-free policy and remain a voice for peace and disarmament, even as we invest in real capability. And we’ll keep making our own calls. The decision about when, where and how New Zealand commits its people is ours to make, as a sovereign nation, every time.
That’s why we won’t be joining either pillar of AUKUS. Working closely with partners is one thing, signing away our judgement is another.
None of this is possible without capability, and capability starts with people. Our personnel deserve to be respected, properly remunerated, and offered a genuine career, not just a posting. For too long we’ve trained good people, then watched them leave because the conditions, the pay and the pathway didn’t add up.
Labour will prioritise workforce conditions to lift recruitment and retention, because every piece of kit is only as good as the person operating it. We’ll also back them with the right institutions, including representative associations and independent oversight of conduct and culture. A force that looks after its own is a stronger force.
Then there’s the hardware, which is ageing and can’t keep being deferred. Our frigates, helicopters and other core platforms are reaching the end of their working lives. Replacing them is not a vanity project, it’s the price of doing what New Zealanders expect of the Defence Force, from patrolling our vast maritime domain to responding when a cyclone flattens a Pacific neighbour. Labour supports that renewal, done in a way the books can sustain rather than in lurching, election-cycle bursts.
How we buy matters as much as what we buy. We want our procurement system reformed for better value, better strategic alignment, and genuine interoperability with the partners we’ll operate alongside. But interoperability is not dependence. We can build kit that works with our friends’ systems while keeping our sovereign ability to decide how and when we use it. Capable and connected, but independent, is the thread running through everything I’m describing.
We see real opportunity in deepening the partnerships we already have. Australia is our only formal ally, and strengthening integration with the ADF is the natural priority. Beyond that, we should deepen engagement with our traditional partners, ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum and other regional groupings.
We can also contribute well above our weight by hosting combined exercises and building interoperability with like-minded forces: the relationship that brings Singapore’s forces to Ohakea is a good example, strengthening a valued partner, sharpening our people, and deepening trust across the region. These are exactly the relationships that pay off when the pressure comes on.
And when it does, New Zealand will keep showing up. We have a proud record in peacekeeping and rebuilding, of stepping into difficult places to help keep the peace, and we will keep doing it. But we’ll do it on our own terms, with our eyes open, and with a Defence Force that is properly equipped, properly led and properly looked after.
There is a wider shift we need to read clearly. The most recent United States National Security Strategy leans hard into burden-sharing, and increasingly burden-shifting, asking allies and partners to carry more and stepping back from spaces it once filled. That has real consequences for us. As the United States recalibrates, New Zealand, alongside other United Nations member states, will be expected to help fill the void, and in practice that means our UN contributions are likely to grow. We should approach that deliberately, on our terms, rather than have it forced on us.
The Korean Peninsula shows how this can work. Our long-standing contribution there is small in number but carries weight well beyond its size, and we have built a solid reputation doing it, a modest commitment with outsized strategic impact. That is exactly the kind of mission we should sustain and build on.
Europe is the next frontier. The war in Ukraine will end, even if we cannot yet say when, and the rebuilding will be immense. Demining and provincial reconstruction are areas where New Zealand has real expertise and a genuine record, and where we could play a critical role in helping a shattered country become safe and liveable again. It is patient, unglamorous work, and exactly the kind of contribution that suits us and that the world remembers.
Labour’s direction of travel is peace pursued through credible, sustainable strength, an independent nation that works generously with its friends, and a Defence Force whose people know their country has their back.
To everyone serving, and to those who’ve served before them, thank you. You are the reason this conversation matters.
