In the national interest: NZ military falling behind demands of political leaders

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN, GREG ANSLEY and SCOTT MacLEOD

New Zealand troops are being used as instruments of foreign policy in military hotspots such as Iraq and the Solomon Islands.

They are happy to do so. It is what they are trained to do.

But a Herald inquiry has found that the New Zealand military is running out of muscle to cope with the demands of its political masters.

The inquiry discloses big shortages at many levels of the Army, Navy and Air Force. New military kit which would make the forces' jobs easier in difficult places like the Solomons has yet to arrive and highly skilled staff are leaving once major missions are over.

This is the sharp end of New Zealand foreign policy - an inadequately resourced military for the new challenges of the 21st century.

Unlike Australia - which released a Defence Strategy Update in February - the Government has yet to publicise the strategic thinking on which it bases its decisions to send New Zealand forces to the four corners of the globe.

There is a culture of secrecy which means New Zealand journalists can obtain clearer information from military websites overseas than is made readily available at home.

The Herald's inquiries have run up against a situation where much of the official information - which the Government chooses to publish - is hopelessly outdated.

An evolving "Pacific Doctrine" being cobbled together by Canberra and Wellington is likely to see New Zealand's role in the Pacific stepped up.

The doctrine is based on the Biketawa Declaration signed by Pacific Island nations at the 2000 Pacific Islands Forum.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said it was preferable to have forum consent for regional military or police interventions.

"We are working on a Pacific strategy," he said. "There are documents we are working to and from to try and fine-tune what our approach to a specific region should be.

"It's one thing to set up democratic institutions in Iraq and promote good governance in Iraq - it's another to sustain it. I could substitute the Solomons for Iraq."

Mr Goff does not advocate a "deputy sheriff" role for New Zealand.

"Where a crisis exists and it has regional implications, people can't exactly stand back and say, 'Do nothing about that'. That has a real potential for contagion.

"If a man with a gun can hold a country to ransom in the Solomons then that can move very quickly to neighbouring territory."

Australian PM John Howard has signalled a more "interventionist" role for his nation in the region.

He is promoting Australia as a "long-term guardian" which intended to make sure that failed states on its doorstep did not become havens for terrorism, people smuggling, drug-running and criminals.

Australian defence spending is expected to climb as a result.