Vicki Jones | Auckland
Amid tight security and a background of around a hundred vociferous "peace" protestors, NZ Defence Industry Association (NZDIA) Forum 2016 delegates and exhibitors were welcomed by local journalist and radio personality Kerrie McIvor. NZDIA chair Bernie Diver then acknowledged other Defence Force, Ministry and International guests with a moment's reflection for those suffering from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake at Kaikoura.
Diver explained that the event had been moved to Auckland from its usual home in Wellington to coincide with the upcoming Operation Neptune Fleet Review, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy. He reviewed four years of significant progress in the relationship between Industry, the Defence Force and the Ministry, illustrated by the creation of roles such as Ministry of Defence Chief Industry Advisor and NZDF Director of Industry Engagement.
“AIRCDRE Clark reiterated the NZDF's strong desire for a more collaborative relationship with Industry.”
Bundled in through a rear entrance after arriving by water barge, NZ Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee struggled to contain his outrage at the "non-peaceable" protesters. He noted that action by the navies of NZ, USA, Canada, and Australia assisting in the earthquake zone reinforced the importance of current NZ alliances.
Referencing NZ's increasingly unstable environment, Asia-Pacific tensions and environmental challenges, Brownlee noted NZ would more often need to respond to challenges and was not unaffected by terrorism or cyber threats.
The Minister overviewed the 2016 NZ Defence Capability Plan (3rd edition) noting its detail in five operational areas:
- the Antarctic & Southern Ocean;
- air surveillance;
- littoral operations;
- cyber protection; and
- intelligence support
Further details about the 2016 NZ White Paper and Capability Plan were outlined by Defence Secretary Helene Quilter and Assistant Chief Capability, Air Commodore Andrew Clark.
Quilter described how the Capability Plan would be implemented as it commits $NZ20 billion over 15 years, covering the replacement of all existing assets across all domains (Maritime, Land, Air, and Networked Enablers).
In the Maritime domain replacement, it will not be “like for like”, with larger faster vessels acquired to cover the distance between equatorial and island waters through to the Antarctic. The Land domain will focus on moving away from an acquisition-based approach to robust and sustainable integration with the least risk and burden involved.
A focus on best-value-for-money over project l life cycles will characterise asset management within the Air domain. The Networked Enablers domain will be less capital-intensive than the others, with the focus on satellites, HF, and Terrestrial Mobile capabilities.
The plan (regarded as a public service exemplar) will assist the Ministry to move away from a functional approach to that of a “whole of system” approach. Defence, industry and the scientific community will operate inter-dependently with early close-engagement and whole-of-life costing being key. From February 2017 the NZ MoD will operate through Integrated Project Teams and with a single point of accountability.
AIRCDRE Clark gave the Defence Force perspective, emphasising the importance of the people who need to deliver on the implementation tasks. He pointed out that defence force personnel are not subject to employment legislation as they technically volunteer, and “management” is replaced by the command structures.
He said the highly-engaged defence workforce now demonstrates much higher morale than was the case a few years ago and further demonstrates a wide range of highly transferable skills and attitudes. Suggesting the possibility of short industry secondments for staff, AIRCDRE Clark reiterated the NZDF's strong desire for a more collaborative relationship with industry, including the more than 110 member organisations of the NZDIA.
The Forum continued throughout the remainder of the day with a series of headline speakers including the Chief of Navy, and well into the mid-afternoon of the 17th, concluding with a formal dinner attended by several hundred defence and industry personnel – along with a large contingent of protestors who had returned to (unsuccessfully) disrupt the proceedings.