It is a huge area that a country with only a population of (at the time of writing) 4.8 million and a GDP of around 385 NZD billion  (roughly $250 USD billion.) Now believe it or not New Zealand has been spending 1.3% on defence. Roughly $3.75 NZD billion dollars. There is also the 20 billion dollar injection over 15 years which works out to be around an extra 1.3 NZD billion a year. (but this extra money is set aside to buy the tools required and replace aging assets.

More money gets spent on superannuation in New Zealand than on defence of the country. More money is on Student Loans Debt... The total value of all student loans was $16 billion at the end of 2018/2019, according to the Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2019. Don't ask about welfare... just don't because the lefties will just make up the same old excuse... So don't tell me we spend to much on Defence...

This money is mainly being used to purchase and/or upgrade aging equipment. Equipment that has already been upgraded by the previous government;

• Replace and upgrade fleet transport MANN MHOV vehicles.
• Replace The Steyr Rifle with MARS-L
• Start various upgrades on the ANZAC Frigates, From the diesel turbines to the air ducting and ventilation to various other machinery spaces.
• Added in new weapons platforms ie; Javelin Missile, Barrett MRAD (Multi Role, Adaptive Design) Sniper Rifle, Barrett M107A1 Anti-Materiel Rifle, Glock G17 Gen 4, Direct Fire Support Weapon (Area) DFSW(A) H&K 40mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG).
• HMNZS Aotearoa designs and tank tests.
• ANZAC Frigate weapons and sensor upgrade process.
• Started the process to purchase the P-8A Poseidon's.

In recent years 

• Upgrading the ANZAC frigates with a MLU. (Started by the previous government). 
  • To support this life extension additional work will be completed on the vessels, including an enhanced maintenance and repair package to ensure appropriate upkeep until the end of the ships’ service lives.
• Replacing HMNZS Endeavour with HMNZS Aotearoa. (Started by the previous government). 
• HMNZS Manawanui II with HMNZS Manawanui III.
• P3K2's with P-8A Poseidon's. (Started by the previous government).  
• C-130 H with the C-130j-30 Super Hercules.
• Increase the Army regulars to 6000.

Future 

• A dedicated Southern Ocean Patrol Vessel.
• 2nd Enhanced Sealift Vessel.
• Replacing the Armored Pinzgauer LOV's
• Replace or Upgrade the NZLAV III's
• Replace the maritime Helo's and will have to increase in numbers.
• Replace HMNZS Canterbury to maintain a 2 ship enhanced sealift fleet.
• Upgrade the P-8's as new tech becomes available
• Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Drone patrols over the Pacific
• Upgrades to Command and Communications systems on HMNZS Canterbury and the OPV's 
• Tactical drones
• Greater use of Satelite and network capabilities
• Replacing the current two OPV's
• Upgrade to the Phalanx Close-In Weapons system on board the ANZAC frigates in the early 2020s
• Replacement of the ship-launched torpedo on board the ANZAC frigates
• Upgrades to the current fleet of SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopters, addressing hardware and software obsolescence of aircraft components, to ensure they are fit for purpose for the remainder of their service lives
• Upgrades to the machinery spaces, navigation systems and other essential capabilities will be completed on the Offshore Patrol Vessels to ensure the vessels remain fit-for-purpose until they are replaced in the late-2020s.

Outside of the 20 billion injection

• Replacement of the ANZAC's Frigates
  • The Anzac Frigates are scheduled to be replaced with modern surface combatants relevant to New Zealand’s prevailing strategic environment in the mid-2030s. Introduction of the new ships will be phased with the withdrawal from service of the existing Anzac frigates
• HMNZS Canterbury Replacement.
• Purchased second hand, HMNZS Manawanui III has an expected service life of 15 years. The vessel will be replaced with a similar vessel in the mid-2030s, in order to retain the Royal New Zealand Navy’s dive and hydrographic capabilities. 

These are the current upgrades that are happening in the next few years...

Now lets look at the past and what we have done;
In the past NZ has sent troops to Boer War, WWI, WWII, Malayan Emergency, Korean War, Vietnam, Bougainville, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and we have sent on going peacekeepers to South Korea DMZ, Kasmir, Sinai, Lebanon/Syria/Israel: UNTSO, Iran/Iraq war, Rhodesia, East Timor, Bougainville, and Tonga plus others.

Our SAS (NZSAS) have been sent on many missions. Missions that have been made public and many that have not. They have been given a United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation from the US president and were instrumental in their tracking skills as well as the Silver Star & Defense Meritorious Service Medal awarded to a few troopers. It is very very rear for these medals to be awarded to personal outside of the US armed forces. During the Vietnam war, they and our Aussie counterparts SASR were known by the Viet Cong as the Grey Ghosts. They would track Viet Cong patrols let them pass within metres and attack them from behind and then disappear into the Jungle. NZSAS have been deployed to Malaya 1955–57, Thailand 1962, Borneo 1965-66, Vietnam 1968–71, Rhodesia 1979–1980, Bosnia 1995–1996, Bougainville 1997–98, Kuwait 1998, East Timor 1999–2001, Solomon Islands 2000, Afghanistan 2001–2012... and these are only the deployments that are made public.

Search & Rescue

Bringing this Search and Rescue Region into perspective when it is viewed as is (normal over the ocean) While it doesn't look that big... let us superimpose it over Europe. It is a huge (and I mean huge) chunk of the planet that NZ is responsible for S&R.

So lets put it all into perspective, so would the city of New York with a greater population of New Zealand actually just under double the population, and nearly quadruple the GDP of NZ...  now have they to fund what they already fund now and no cutbacks, plus now a full-on defence force and equipment & training, plus search & rescue of the same area NZ does, fishery patrols for catching poachers etc, plus funding all and any standard patrols, any aid given in all HADR operations externally as well internally and any security issues in the same area of influence. Including sending what help can be sent for various pirate patrols and goodwill visits outside their area of influence but to help protect shipping lanes. International S&R ...ie; NZDF did send a couple of P3's to help search for flight MH370 which is outside our SRR. As well as sending what troops equipment they can to any conflict that affects their area of influence. Again New Zealand has sent a P3 to help with patrols of South China Sea and sanctions against North Korea etc.

New Zealand's EEZ, and claim on the continental shelf

The RNZN and RNZAF regularly patrol up and around the Pacific Islands to help with both their fishery patrols and border protection as well as HADR and aid. 

We have sent aid to just about every natural disaster happens around the world, and if it in the Pacific this aid increases with a huge amount of aid via HMNZS Canterbury and whatever she can carry with feet on the ground and doing the hard yards, and it happens "Every Year" as well as financial aid every year. New Zealand has recently had two very large devastating earthquakes to recover from Christchurch and Kaikoura. We maintain and support a base in Antarctica all year round and help the US with supplying both our Scott Base and the US McMurdo.  Recently sent as much aid and nurses and vaccines to Samoa with there measles out break as we could.

We regularly send firefighters, (which usually leaves us short of our own firefighter coverage) to help our Aussie cousins across the ditch and many occasions to help the US, ie; sent aid and rescue teams in the aftermath of 9/11 and to aid to other disasters in the US. (and they sent help during the ChCh and Kaikoura EQ's it goes both ways)  (Written before the Bushfires of 2019/2020 where we sent NZDF crew and 3 NH-90 as well as civil firefighters and money)

All this coming from the city of New York's GDP no outside money only the city's GPD can supply any funding... Having quadruple the GDP and larger population than NZ I would hope they would have a larger Defence force ... now half the population and shrink the GDP to quarter the size... and you have to do the same thing having the same responsibilities and then adding pressures from your larger allies to do more where you are already stretched, now add-in that your dollar is not as strong as your major ally's in the alliance and the cost of equipment is always rising... and you start to see the issue New Zealand has at buying equipment etc. 

So putting everything into perspective all of a sudden the budget has shrunk but your responsibilities remain the same, and you can see the problem we have as the small ally in any alliance. And the final nail in the coffin is Sea blindness of the NZ public. But as stated many times in other articles this stance is slowly changing as China slowly moves...