When a Royal New Zealand Air Force C130 Hercules broke down in Vanuatu this week there was a certain irony in the event. It left Defence Minister Peeni Henare stranded in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, where he had been leading a delegation of 30 New Zealanders, including officials from the New Zealand Defence Force and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were in the country for World War II commemorations.
Henare took over the Defence portfolio after the 2020 election, but so far he has done little to upgrade the rundown state of the country’s defence resources.
