(file image) Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says the country faces big decisions on the improving the capability of the Defence Force as Australia announces its biggest defence overhaul in decades.
On Monday, Australia unveiled its defence force shake-up, which confirmed the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine programme was a priority for its deterrence capability, and that the country would prioritise long-range precision strike and domestic production of guided weapons.
Hipkins told Morning Report New Zealand's Defence Force strategic review was due to be released in due course.
"We have some big decisions ahead of us as well, as a country, in terms of capability we have in our Defence Force," he said.
"We live in a more heated geostrategic environment than we have in recent times and I think you'll see that reflected in a number of countries' approaches."
"We've got some decisions ahead for the navy" - Prime Minister Chris Hipkins
But the prime minister would not be drawn on what that could entail, and whether it could be similar to Australia's plans.
"The New Zealand Defence Force over time has a number of different roles and defence in the traditional military sense is only one of them. We also need to have the capability to respond to significant natural disasters, not just in New Zealand, but across the Pacific," Hipkins said.
Last week, Australia and New Zealand announced a 'Plan ANZAC' agreement, which aims to improve army inter-operability with more cooperation over training, capability, readiness and personnel.
Hipkins said recent upgrades to the air force were "generational investments".
"I think what people need to do is look at what kind of capability do we need and how much it will cost for us to be able to do that ... and some of that is people capability as well, it's not just the hardware, it's making sure we've got the people to actually use that hardware."
On international evacuations from Sudan, where hundreds have reportedly died in an ongoing power struggle, Hipkins said New Zealand did not have an "on ground" presence there but was support its citizens through its presence in Ethiopia, as well as working with international partners.
Nine New Zealanders had been registered as being there on the SafeTravel website, and eight of those had now left.
What is the Defence Force Policy Review?
The review was announced last year after a Defence Assessment found "New Zealand's strategic environment is deteriorating, and security threats are increasing," and that Covid-19 had intensified the impacts of other longer-term strategic trends.
The assessment identified two major challenges: strategic competition and the intensifying and wide-ranging impacts of climate change.
It suggested New Zealand's defence policy settings should be reviewed, and that policy shifted from a predominantly reactive, risk management-centred approach to a more proactive and deliberate strategy.
The review will outline a new defence policy and strategy statement, expressing the government's defence policy interests, objectives and high-level strategy, and establish a set of design principles to define the activities and scenarios for the future.
Defence Force upgrades
Seasprite helicopters. Photo: New Zealand Defence Force
In 2019, the government unveiled the mammoth $20 billion Defence Capability Plan, with nearly every major piece of defence hardware earmarked for an upgrade.
"We've already taken decisions to upgrade our air force fleet quite significantly. Very, very big investments in that in recent years, that's starting to come onstream now," Hipkins said.
"We've got some decisions ahead for the navy, we know that in the next 10 years or so we're going to have to make some decisions about the future of the Anzac frigates."
The government has spent $2.3 billion to buy new P8 Poseidons to replace the Air Force's ageing Orion planes.
The fleet will be used for maritime patrols and overseas deployments, flying from Manawatū.
In recent years, $206 million was also approved for major upgrades at Manawatū's Ōhakea Air Force Base, which will be home to four of the new Boeing P-8A Poseidons planes and number five squadron will shift from Whenuapai to Ōhakea to fly them.
The Ministry of Defence has also already announced the Hercules planes are set to be replaced by new Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, costing about $1.5bn.
But the five new aircraft were not expected to be fully operational until 2025.
The ministry is considering spending about $1bn on replacing the existing Seasprite chopper fleet.
The project to upgrade the country's two navy frigates cost about $594m.
Late last year, it was reported three of New Zealand's nine navy ships were sitting idle in port as defence personnel left the force for better salaries.