Defence

Two agencies oversee defence in New Zealand: the Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). The Ministry is a civilian organisation that advises the Government about defence policy and funds the purchase of new equipment. The NZDF runs the three branches of the defence force: NZ Army, Royal NZ Navy and Royal NZ Air Force.

The Government maintains the armed forces to defend the country’s people and resources, to assist United Nations international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, to maintain security in the South Pacific region and to help with disaster relief.

There are currently shortages in a range of areas, particularly in technical and trade roles. Opportunities for graduates are good and conditions have improved to make defence careers more attractive and financially competitive with private sector options.

In May 2005, the Government announced as part of a 10-year plan that it will be spending an extra $4.6 billion on defence equipment and infrastructure as well as recruiting 2,000 more people. The plan will also help meet NZ Defence Force goals of:

  • Defending the country and its territorial waters and resources
  • Promoting security in the South Pacific, Asia-Pacific and the world through United Nations peacekeeping operations
  • Meeting alliance commitments to Australia

All three defence services, the NZ Army, the Royal NZ Navy and the Royal NZ Air Force, have begun rebuilding personnel as part of the 10-year plan. Raising salaries and improving conditions have been priorities in an effort to lower turnover. Pay rises have made jobs in the defence forces more attractive and financially competitive with similar jobs in the private sector.

All three defence branches are also trying to recruit more women and people from minority groups. The NZ Defence Force has introduced a range of initiatives, such as a flexible working policy and part-time work, to boost the number of female recruits. This has led to a steady increase in the number of female personnel in the defence forces, in a wider range of roles. The NZ Defence Force also adopted a diversity strategy to meet the demands of deployment in different cultural, social and regional settings. In 2007, it was a public sector winner of an Equal Employment Opportunity Trust Work & Life Award for encouraging diversity.

With 13,552 workers as of 2007, the defence industry is important to the regional economies where defence forces are situated. Having a large concentration of people in places such as Waiouru, where there is a large military base, increases what might otherwise be a small population. This helps local businesses and provides employment for people who are not directly involved in defence such as retailers.

Significant stats
  • In 2007, 13,552 people were employed in the defence sector; 2,607 were female.
  • New Zealand Vote Defence Force expenditure for 2007/2008 is estimated at $1,909.712 million. Of this amount, the NZ Army will receive $706.955 million, the NZ Navy will receive $612.864 million and the Royal NZ Air Force will receive $549.678 million.
  • 9,051 of those employed by the New Zealand Defence Force were regular forces, 2,240 were non-regular forces and 2,261 were civilian forces as of 2007.

Statistics sources:Statistics New Zealand; New Zealand Official Yearbook 2006; NZ Defence Force website.