The government commits 571 million dollars to improve salaries and helicopters and vehicles of the Defense Forces

The Government’s next budget will contain $571 million of new funding to increase the salaries of Defense Forces personnel, upgrade its fleet of NH90 helicopters and replace aging military vehicles.

Defense Minister Judith Collins’ pre-budget announcement also includes $107 million in cuts to the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) and the Ministry of Defence, part of the Government’s efforts to reduce spending in public services.

However, Collins has revealed that the NZDF fell short of the Government’s spending cut target of between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent, saying he was not going to pressure the Defense Forces to cut further spending given the growing number of deployments and the most challenging geopolitical environment. he operated in.

“You can’t get blood out of a stone.”

Of the $571 million, $163 million would be used for “uniformed personnel remuneration” to help address Defense Force attrition issues that have increased in recent years.

The remaining $408 million, comprising $127 million in operating financing and $281 million in capital financing, would be used for new projects.

While it had not yet gained Cabinet approval, one of the projects Collins referred to was beginning the replacement of 40-year-old Unimogs and Pinzgauer trucks, used to transport personnel and equipment and provide off-road mobility during events such as Cyclone Gabrielle.

“The replacement vehicles will have integrated communications that will improve interoperability with regional and global partners such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States,” Collins said.

New Zealand’s NH90 helicopter fleet would also get new navigation systems and updated encrypted radios to enable interoperability with overseas partners.

The new funding would also go towards a cloud-based software program that would give the Defense Forces better visibility over the country’s maritime domain, renting out 35 accommodation for staff at Devonport Naval Base and improvements to Linton Military Camp. .

In the 2023 budget, the previous Labor government spent $419 million alone on increasing NZDF staff salaries from $4,000 to $15,000.

At a news conference today, Collins acknowledged that his government was underspending, describing the $163 million as what it could afford.

He could not say what level of pay rise staff would receive because it would depend on their salary.

Collins said pay increases would be decided by the NZDF executive team, but he hoped they would be directed “to where they were needed most”. He said he could not imagine it would be awarded primarily to senior staff.

An entry-level NZDF staff member earned around $65,000 a year, mid-ranking employees earned around $85,000, while officers with about four years’ experience could earn between $90,000 and $180,000, depending on their level. level of training and the number of deployments they had made.

Collins said raising pay was a key tool in combating burnout. Almost 27 per cent of qualified personnel had left the NZDF in the past two years, which had placed serious limitations on its ability to respond to natural disasters and operate its assets.

According to Collins, attrition in December 2022 had reached 17.7 percent, but had now fallen to 10.1 percent. He claimed that attrition in the Air Force and Navy had also decreased, but did not give figures.

When asked if he had a goal for attrition, he said 7 percent would be a “great goal.” Collins acknowledged that she was “ambitious” and that it might take her time to achieve it.

The $107 million of cuts reinvested in the NZDF “frontline” comprised $99 million from the NZDF and $8 million from the MoD.

A statement from Collins said the cuts were achieved by ending projects, reducing domestic and international travel and decreasing spending on contractors and consultants.

Asked how close the NZDF came to the 6.5 per cent target, Collins said: “Well, they did well. “You can’t get blood out of a stone.”

She then referenced how the Defense Forces were in a “fairly dire state” when she took over as minister, saying morale was low and as such she would not pressure them to make further cuts. Collins did not specify by what proportion the NZDF had cut its spending.

Today’s announcement preceded the next Defense Capability Plan, which would outline the Government’s spending priorities for the NZDF through to 2040. The plan was expected to reach Collins next month.

New Zealand spends the equivalent of 1 percent of its GDP on defense, less than the 2 percent that some of its allies spend on their defense forces.

Act and New Zealand First campaigned to gradually increase defense spending to 1.5-2 per cent of GDP respectively.

Collins said it would be “lovely” to get to 2 per cent, but said it was important to remember other areas needed investment.

Labor leader Chris Hipkins highlighted that the Government’s spending on remuneration was much less than what his Government had done.

“If anything, this is just keeping the lights on.”

Hipkins disagreed with tying defense spending to a proportion of GDP, considering it “arbitrary”.

However, he accepted that the NZDF needed more funding to enable greater search and rescue and disaster recovery capabilities.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter with the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based in Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.