John MacDonald: $12 billion on defence? I'm good with that

It would be great if we didn’t have to spend $12 billion on our defence force. But we do, and I’m good with it.    To be honest though, while we’d known the Government had some sort of plan to increase defence spending, I was still blown away a bit by the scale of it when the announcement came through.    So, $12 billion over the next four years. There’ll be new helicopters, more missiles, autonomous vessels, the air force’s clapped-out 757s will be replaced. And that’s just the start, because it’s all part of a bigger 15-year plan to up the ante on the defence front.    The Government says it will boost defence spending to more than 2% of GDP within the next eight years, which we haven’t seen since the early 1990s. Defence Minister Judith Collins says defence personnel are excited, because under-investment over the last 35 years has left the force gutted.   Former NZ First defence minister Ron Mark is over the moon too. But he says the Government should sign contracts for the new gear ASAP, so any future government can't ditch the plans.   But he says it's not just about missiles and helicopters, there's an issue with people power, as well. And recruiting the people needed to deliver the Government's 15-year plan will be a big challenge.   Which Judith Collins acknowledges – you might have heard that the defence force has lowered some its academic requirements for people wanting to join the forces. Which I think makes sense. Judith Collins does too.    And she says what we pay our defence personnel —as opposed to this $12 billion that’s going to be spent on kit— will be covered in the Budget next month.   What this all brings us to is the question of what sort of operation you think our defence force should be.   Should it use this new capability that it will have to focus on peacekeeping? Should there be more of a focus on surveillance? Or do you think we need a defence force that is capable of attacking?   Professor Al Gillespie is an international law expert from Waikato University. He says this big investment in defence shows New Zealand has joined the arms race.   He's saying today: "We've avoided doing it for quite some time but there's been a lot of pressure on us to increase the amount of money that we spend.”   So the Government is responding to that pressure. And I think it’s great. Yes, the money could be spent on health and education, but our defence force is in such bad shape that the Government has no choice.   And, in terms of what sort of capability I want our military to have, I think we need to cover all of the bases. We have to be equipped to keep the peace. Surveillance is another critical role. But if we think we can do either of those things without some sort firepower to back it up, then we’re dreaming.   And the government knows that, which is why it wants our ships to be combat-capable. I’m not saying that I want our defence force going in all guns blazing, but it needs to be capable. Way more capable than it is now.    Which is why I think this $12 billion —and everything else that comes on top of that— is going to be money well spent.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.