I would like start by thanking the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, for the invitation to attend this conference and for the opportunity to speak. As a retired army officer and a serving diplomat I feel privileged to be here among you today and be part of a conversation addressing naval and maritime security issues.

I am here to talk to you about a subject which, in the past I have been very much engaged, and of which I still maintain a close interest; that is, to share with you my views on how New Zealand deals with domestic and external security risks, and in particular how we approach these risks from a whole-of-government or interagency cooperative perspective.

From my previous careers and prior to joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 2011, I was the head of the New Zealand Customs Service and before that the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand. In both these roles I worked closely with other security sector agencies to counter or mitigate risks to the security of the people, the borders, the natural resources and the broader security interests of New Zealand. It is with this background that I will address you today.

During this presentation I intend to briefly discuss New Zealand’s geo-political situation and describe the contemporary threats and risks that New Zealand faces and the challenges in dealing with them. Acknowledging that this is a sea power conference, I will try and contain the discussion to the maritime security space, but I may take the liberty of heading inland, if required, to provide an example or to illustrate a point. I will then discuss how these threats and risks are addressed in New Zealand’s context by discussing examples of whole-of-government approaches and interagency cooperation.