Defence accommodation slammed

Defence Force personnel are forced to live in worse conditions than beneficiaries and prisoners, says National Party defence spokesman John Carter.

It is little wonder the forces have difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, considering the conditions of their bases, he said.

"Recently I visited a base and the way that we house these people is a disgrace in my point of view. The housing is substandard by today's standards.

"We provide better housing for our beneficiaries and those who offend against us than the people who defend us."


Although Mr Carter would not say which base he had visited, he said it was the kind of accommodation expected in the late 1950s to early 1960s - not in the 21st century.

Eight houses a year were set to be upgraded at the base. At this rate it would take 50 years to refurbish all the homes there.

Mr Carter said although defence personnel were excellent, the Labour-led Government was not providing the Army, Air Force and Navy with the resources to be effective.

But a spokeswoman for Defence Minister Mark Burton, Jenny Alexander, said New Zealand was ranked number one country for peacekeeping missions.

She said it was "incredibly rich" for National to criticise the Government's defence policy when National openly admitted not keeping up the pace with defence in the 1990s.

- NZPA