Editorial: Defence policy an affront to Anzac spirit

There are reasons for this Anzac Day to be particularly sombre. The commemoration of the duty and sacrifice of those who fought and died in the wars of last century takes place in a climate of international volatility. The war in Iraq, even if mercifully short, has left many unanswered questions. All we know for sure is that further collisions - some of states, some of ideals - doubtless lie around the corner.

The passage of time also occasions a particular solemnity. This year there will be no original Anzac to provide a living link with the Gallipoli campaign. Alec Campbell, the last veteran of that ill-fated landing on Turkish soil, passed away less than a month after taking his normal place at the front of last year's Anzac Day parade in Hobart. Now, even the veterans of World War II are dwindling in number. All too soon, the 6000 members of K-force, New Zealand's contribution to the Korean War, will provide much of the numerical returned service strength at dawn parades throughout the country.

In some ways, the enhanced focus on that conflict will be enlightening. It even provides lessons that the Government cannot afford to ignore. If New Zealanders took up arms for country and empire in the two world wars, they fought under the United Nations flag in Korea. This was an international endeavour, precisely the sort of multilateral approach that the Government would have preferred to prevail in Iraq. The difference is that in 1950 New Zealand could make a meaningful contribution to a 16-nation military effort. It was, in fact, in a position to be one of the first countries to answer the UN Security Council's call for combat assistance, and later able to respond to a further appeal for troops. Compare that degree of readiness with the wretched state of today's Defence Force.

Korea remains an unresolved puzzle but no longer could New Zealand make either an urgent or worthwhile commitment. A toothless creature has been deliberately cultivated by a Government seemingly determined to sleep-walk its way through an unobliging international environment. The Air Force's strike wing has been disbanded and the Army reduced to a peacekeeping role.

Even if New Zealand had wished to participate in the Iraq conflict, its contribution would have been paltry. As inconsequential, in fact, as its dispatch to Baghdad of 15 personnel to help the UN Mine Action Service survey and clear land mines and unexploded bombs. That type of work is already being done by civilian contractors.

The Government's perception of the military is, in fact, the very antithesis of what is commemorated on Anzac Day. Worse still, it is an affront to the bravery and sacrifice of thousands of New Zealand men and women, and the lessons that should have been learned from that sacrifice. Skimpy defence spending leads inevitably to a dismal state of preparedness and severe shortcomings in expertise - and as a consequence, unnecessary loss of life. Today's Defence Force bears all the hallmarks - and more - of mistakes of the past that cost this country dearly on the rugged slopes of Gallipoli and, a generation later, the scrub-covered ridges and valleys of Greece and Crete.

Anzac Day is, above all, about remembrance. Yet it should also be an occasion for sober and sane thinking. It provides the opportunity for a measured analysis of what lies ahead, as well as a review of the miscalculations of the past. This, more than anything, should induce a drastic recasting of the Government's defence policy.

The world, not least the Asia-Pacific region, is increasingly unstable. Potential flashpoints abound. Having an Army proficient in peacekeeping is a lame evasion of responsibility. New Zealand must be ready, willing and able when called to play its part in peacemaking.