Defence Audit Confirms NZDF Making Good Progress Rebuilding
By Mr Peter Coleman
(Chief Strategic Communications Advisor)
The New Zealand Defence Force has made good progress improving its military and corporate capability, a new Audit Office report confirms. Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, welcomed release of the report, on 8 September from the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General, into the Foundations phase of the Defence Sustainability Initiative.
The Audit Report found that NZDF has, through a series of projects:
- sustained deployments
- grown people numbers and reduced attrition
- made good progress clearing a backlog of equipment shortages
- centralised and consolidated its corporate services, and
- addressed personnel shortages within its Headquarters.
LT GEN Mateparae said, “Some results are even better than reported - for example, recruitment and retention figures have improved still further since the Audit Report was prepared, and will be highlighted in the NZDF’s Annual Report.”
The Audit Report notes that progress preparing the NZDF for new deployments had been slower that expected because of the high level of activity the NZDF was already undertaking. Expected deployment levels in the Foundations phase were to equate to around 11.7 percent of the Regular Force, while in 2005/06 it was actually 12.4 percent; in 2006/07 it was 15.8 percent and in 2007/08 it was 17.2 percent.
The Audit Report explains that for every land-based person deployed, another two are committed to pre-and-post deployment tasks. These two others “sustain” the deployment. The Deployment Table from the Audit Report illustrates the effects of NZDF’s deployments during the Foundation phase on the number of personnel that were available for other activities or preparing for potential new deployments.
The Auditor-General writes: “Maintaining deployments at these levels has slowed the NZDF’s progress in restoring military and corporate capability because it needed more of its personnel to manage and sustain deployments. There is an inherent trade-off between deployments and being prepared because personnel cannot be in two places at once. For example, when an Army field engineer is serving in Afghanistan, they are not in New Zealand.. they cannot be involved in being prepared for potential new deployments or other activities.”
LT GEN Mateparae said, “New Zealanders can rightly be proud of the contribution being made by their Defence Force in a number of theatres across the globe. However, this level of activity does come with a cost. It has meant that though we have made good progress growing and rebuilding the Defence Force, we haven’t always been able to do this as quickly as we had planned. Nonetheless, this Audit Report confirms that overall progress has been real and substantial in most areas.”
The Controller and Auditor-General did not find it necessary to make any formal recommendations in the report.
“Overall, it is a very pleasing result because it confirms that the Defence Force has made excellent progress rebuilding,” said LT GEN Mateparae. “The extra investment in the Defence Force is achieving the desired effect, which is ultimately about keeping New Zealand secure.”
| NZDF DEPLOYMENT TABLE |
Regular Force Personnel deployed |
Estimated Regular Force personnel involved in pre-and post-deployment activities |
Estimated Regular Force personnel involved in other activities and preparing for new deployments |
| 2004/05 |
12.9% |
25.8% |
61.3% |
| 2005/06 |
12.4% |
24.8% |
62.8% |
| 2006/07 |
15.8% |
31.6% |
52.6% |
| 2007/08 |
17.2% |
34.4% |
48.4% |