The 2023 Defence Policy of the NONE OF THE ABOVE PARTY (NOTA) (not a real political party!)

Introduction

New Zealand must stop ‘kicking the defence can down the road.’ People are coming to realise that but, at the current rate of effort, any war of commitment will be over before most politicians and officials are out of bed.

NOTA is committed to a strong, prosperous and well protected New Zealand. Right now, the New Zealand Defence Force lacks the mass, lethality and sustainability to engage in combat operations for longer than about 48 hours. Nothing offered as policy by other parties contesting Election2023 comes close to addressing these fundamental problems.

Our suite of election policies is designed to turbo-charge the NZ economy. That is potentially at odds with massively increasing defence spending. So we propose to make defence expansion part of the economic solution not the problem.

What is Proposed?

A new model defence force that is founded on a whole-of-government view. Defence strengths will be focussed and leveraged. Weaknesses will be dispersed across government.

The priorities of the NOTA policy are remembered by the mnemonic PPPS

People Protection Projection Sustainability

POLICY PLANK 1 – A Much Larger Reserve-Dominant Defence Force

The aim is to create an interim force of twenty thousand within 3 years rising to thirty thousand over 6 years. This involves a rapid up-scaling of the Reserve Force with focussed operational roles. Full-time personnel will provide a substantial rapid deployment force and cadre functions.

POLICY PLANK 2 – Force Protection and Protected Mobility is Essential

We will protect our people and their families with the best personal equipment and vehicles designed to survive attack. Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities as well as defensive weapon systems form part of this policy.

POLICY PLANK 3 – Reduce Cost and Length of Defence Acquisition Cycles

The entire government will focus on dual-use technology – where civilian and military capabilities can be combined – wherever possible. Sovereign capabilities must be developed wherever possible or deemed mission critical. Financial management will be reformed. Whole of government purchasing will be the norm.

POLICY PLANK 4 – NZDF Must Be Capable of Unimpeded Force Projection

The Rapid Deployment Force and any re-supply and reinforcement to it must be able to be done with adequate protection by New Zealand assets. The force must be capable of fighting its way into theatre in partnership with others.

POLICY PLANK 5 – If the NZDF Doesn’t Need to Do It – They Shouldn’t

The NZDF will focus on its core task of fighting and winning the nation’s wars. All other capabilities are secondary and derive from war-fighting. Non-core activities such as youth programmes will transfer to other government agencies.

More Detail on NOTA’s Policy

People:

People are the foundation. Everyone says it but effective action is defeated by the ‘multiply by zero’ effect of self-cancelling policies. The most urgent need is mass. The Defence Force will implement and report on measures relating to recruitment, re-enlistment (including bonuses), lateral recruitment, voluntary national service uptake and retention.

Voluntary National Service will be introduced from 2024. New Zealand citizens and permanent residents may volunteer for full or part-time service in any one of the arms or services of state (i.e. defence, police, fire etc) in return for benefits such as student debt write-off or an accelerated pathway to citizenship.

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Those leaving full-time service will undertake their four years of reserve liability in the nearest or most appropriate reserve unit. Inactive reserve liability will remain until the age of superannuation or veterans’ pension.

The expanded force will be structured around the existing sixteen regions of New Zealand.

All new enlistments and all releases will be via the reserve force in the individual’s region. They will be enlisted in three days and commence training with the nearest reserve unit within one month. Moving between full and part-time service will be seamless.

Kinetic Combat Force: Each region will raise and sustain a Pioneer Regiment. Navy and Air Force reservists will commence and exit service with these units alongside army personnel. With a primary role of field engineering and a secondary role in a designated combat trade, these units will acquire operational taskings over the next twelve months.

Digital Combat Force: These units will maintain a presence in major urban areas but exist as a hybrid dispersed force. It will include cyber battlespace operators, uncrewed system operators, information warfare specialists, psyops, civic-military teams and other 5th generation capabilities.

Sustainment Force: All companies holding government contracts for supply of goods or services relating to national security agencies will be required to have a certain percentage of their staff in the reserve force. This is to ensure that there is no risk of a break in sustainment on deployment due to the legal status of civilians on the battlefield. This force will also include medical capabilities which will align with clinical schools, hospitals and ambulance services.

Protection:

We are a small nation that cannot afford to waste life in training or on operations. That is why NOTA’s parallel priority with that of building mass is enhanced force protection capabilities.

We expect every service person to have world-class personal equipment on entry. The NZDF is expected to rapidly acquire sufficient appropriate weapons and protected mobility (sea, land, air) for the entire force.

Intelligence, surveillance and targetting capabilities and counter-capabilities should be stand-alone as well as partnered operations. Point and area air defence capabilities, both mobile and fixed are to be acquired as a priority. Likewise, surface to surface capabilities suitable for coastal environments.

This policy is designed to encourage development of sovereign capabilities for drones (combined scientific, commercial and national security usage), missiles (via space technology companies) and other dual use technologies.

Defence acquisition must be quicker and cost-effective. To assist in this, the NZDF is to be excluded from the capital charge aspect of public finance legislation. The NZDF will be able to use the defence depreciation account to purchase equipment without reference to Cabinet provided it is within the capability plan.

Projection:

The NZDF must be deployable. It must be able to transport itself, protect itself in transit and fight when it gets to its destination. We do not currently have the correct capability set to do this. It is expected that, while these capabilities are acquired over the next two to three years, NZDF personnel will learn to operate them by being embedded in significant numbers (up to sub-unit strength) in partner forces.

The New Zealand Government Rapid Deployment Force is a whole-of-government capability based on the NZDF. This Task Force will comprise navy, army, air force, police and intelligence personnel as required for the mission.

At any time, the entire NZDF must be available for deployment. This means that the previous practice of using the NZDF as a disciplined labour force (eg CDEM or COVID duties) at the whim of Government must end. NZ government resources must be structurally separated and this will begin immediately with the creation of a nation-wide hybrid emergency response force as part of our voluntary national service scheme.

Veterans Affairs, the NZ Cadet Forces and government Youth Life Skills programmes will no longer be run by the NZDF.

Sustainment:

Any force that is raised and projected must be sustained. That means people, equipment and supplies. In a small country like NZ, we cannot afford to have duplication of services nor the defence force distracted by non-core tasks.

That means separating the operation of the defence force and the business of defence (the latter is the normal business as an arm of government).  The Ministry of Defence and the NZDF will be merged. The Secretary of Defence will be responsible for running the business of defence. The Chief of the Defence Force will command the defence force. The functions of the single service chiefs and component commanders overlap and will be merged. Ultimately, there will be only four groups of staff in two HQ:

· The Secretary of Defence will lead the business aspects of defence

· The Commander Joint Force will command the deployable force

· A Vice Chief of Defence Force (Reserves) will command the Reserve Force

· A Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Cadre) will command the Cadre Force i.e. full-time personnel not deployed.

The NZDF is to commence development of a war equipment contingency reserve which will be considered written off and not be subject to depreciation. Storage and maintenance costs for war or contingency reserve stocks will be funded from a new vote to be established for government-wide long-term assets.

The defence estate is to be vested in a new not-for-profit crown enterprise that will manage all non-commercial crown land. It will be leased back to the NZDF. There will be statutory obligations regarding building standards and other developments to bring the estate up to specification quickly. The NZDF will be free of the costs associated with owning and managing the estate.

Reserve force employment law will be completely re-written to protect reserve force employees, including the self-employed, as well as compensate employers for periods of absence on defence force duties.

Removal of duplication within government will affect NZDF in several ways. The NZ Police will assume full responsibility for domestic counter-terrorism duties meaning the NZDF will no longer have to maintain this capability. Likewise, the country will only maintain one maritime survey vessel in future.

Our defence force first aid, medical and surgical capabilities must be pervasive and an example to other forces.

The NZDF requires a fit-for-purpose digital information system and bespoke, long-term projects delivering disproportionately low-value such as the network enabled army project will be terminated to help pay for a proven enterprise architecture.

The NZDF is to undertake full cost recovery from other departments using its capabilities. This is the best way to uncover potential whole-of-govt savings.

The Government will raise funds for the growth of the force through the issue of Kiwi Defence Bonds similar to the Liberty and Bomber bonds issued during WWII.

Agencies that contribute to protecting New Zealanders, such as coastguard, surf life-saving, ambulance and rescue helicopters will continue to operate under current structures but will be fully funded via the NZDF Reserve Force.

Conclusion

The creation of a new whole-of-govt approach to national security is long overdue. If current assessments are correct, we have little time to fix our national security ‘fence’ and acquire the capabilities the NZDF needs to fight a modern conflict.

Feel free to share this policy with your local MP and candidates.

The many political parties who lack a defence policy for this election are free to adopt this one.