Professor Robert MacCulloch: The PM and his Mates Have Left NZ Defenseless....

The PM and his Mates Have Left NZ Defenseless with No Allies, and Unable to Pay for our own Security

After National was elected, NZ lost 20% of its navy when Manawanui sank in 2024. Defense Minister Collins announced it wouldn't be replaced. At that time, world headlines blared, "NZs proposed defense budget will be 7% smaller than the current year's .. even as the armed forces struggle with ageing equipment, a shortage of manpower & ambitions for a greater regional role .. The new budget .. would put NZ’s defense spending at 0.9% of GDP, down from 1% in the current year".

Simon O'Connor: Defending Trump

A future Trump administration will be looking closely at New Zealand's priorities. Are we ready?

A betting person will certainly see favourable odds for Donald Trump to win the American presidency. This is not to say it is an absolute certainty, but the last few days have certainly tilted the balance which apparently was already in his favour. As I write, Trump has just survived an assassination attempt while his opponent, the current US President, is home with COVID. To add to Biden’s woes, more and more senior Democrats are calling on him to resign including leading Democrats Chuck Schumer and Adam Schiff in the last 48 hours.

David Farrar: Singapore takes defence very seriously

The recent visit to Singapore by the PM has seen some commentators say we should have a defence posture such as Singapore’s where there is no defence treaty with the US.

Peter Winsley: How to defend New Zealand without killing anyone (if possible)

War is older than all human cultures. It pervades human history in all regions and epochs. When the first oral histories were composed war was among the most pervasive themes. Yet war is horrible. It is also extremely expensive both for the “winners” and “losers”. Sometimes it seems a fine hair trigger is tripped or mass psychosis arises from some flimsy pretext and otherwise rational people are sucked into it.

New Zealand is now under pressure to join new alliances and spend more on defence without being told who the enemy might be.

Peter Winsley: How our defence investment decisions can help lift New Zealand’s economic complexity and performance

China and the United States are the world’s two superpowers and New Zealand needs good relations with both. We look to the United States to uphold liberal democracy and the international rule of law. New Zealand is part of the Five Powers (“Five Eyes”) arrangement which largely focuses on surveillance and intelligence gathering and involves combat capabilities. The $2.4B cost for the P8-A Poseidons to replace the Orions is part of the price we pay for Five Powers membership. It is a good political investment.

Australia is New Zealand’s closest ally. Our current defence expenditure is about 1.5% of GDP, compared to Australia at about 2% (2020 figures). Australia expects New Zealand to invest more in defence, and support for this seems to be growing in Parliament. However, we also need to uphold our nuclear-free policy, given Australia’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Despite shared values and close defence ties, the United States and other democracies restrict New Zealand’s primary industry exports. In contrast, our free trade agreement means China is by far our largest export market.