Dr Wayne Mapp
“Modern, capable and effective” are three key words the new Defence Minister uses to describe his vision for the New Zealand Defence Force. He views his core purpose as “working for the people who wear the nation’s uniform” while securing public confidence in the NZDF as a capable and skilful force.
“It’s important to bring into service the new capabilities in a way that shows all New Zealanders we’ve got a capable defence force; a defence force that can do what we ask of it,” he says.
Lawyer and academic Dr Mapp (he has a PhD in international law from Cambridge University), has first-hand experience of the NZDF, having completed Territorial Force Basic training in 1973 and later commissioning.
Dr Mapp says he’s had some great experiences while serving in the Territorial Force, the highlight perhaps being a parachute jump on to Great Barrier Island with “enough gear for about a fortnight” before returning to Auckland on a frigate.
However, in 1996 he realised he would have to choose between serving in the Territorial Force and the demands of a political career.
It might seem unusual that an academic or a lawyer would seek out life as a soldier, but Dr Mapp says: “Academia and law are very individual pursuits – basically you do the work by yourself. Joining the Reserve Forces means you’re no longer working by yourself. In becoming a member of the New Zealand Defence Force, suddenly I was part of a large organisation, mixing with people from all walks of life.”
Dr Mapp says he and the Associate Minister of Defence, Heather Roy (who has also been a member of the TF), have a good partnership, and they will often travel together to visit NZDF personnel at home and abroad.
“We both see our roles as involving a responsibility to observe NZDF personnel in the environments in which they’re actually working, whether that be here in New Zealand, in Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands or in Afghanistan.”
He says the Associate Minister has a particular interest in recruiting and retention matters, the latter being more important than the former.
“We don’t have much trouble recruiting people,” he says. “The biggest challenge is keeping people with key skills.”
The Minister says he has done “a lot of thinking” over the past twenty years about what sort of Defence Force New Zealand requires, and he believes it comes down to the central question of “does the NZDF have the tools to do what it needs to do?”
Dr Mapp says that while he is satisfied with the current deployment tempo, we should remember that New Zealand’s physical isolation from some theatres brings its own set of challenges, and not just for those abroad.
“Deployments are not just about the people posted overseas – they’re also about the people here at home supporting them, the logistics, and the sheer distances we need to travel because of New Zealand’s geographic location.”
The Minister is also well aware of the sacrifices thousands of NZDF personnel make and says we should bear this in mind. “We ask a lot of our people. We ask them to deliver themselves into hostile environments and into harm’s way. I think being a member of the New Zealand Defence Force is an explicitly patriotic way to serve one’s country.”
Associate Minister of Defence
Heather Roy
Associate Defence Minister Heather Roy says she was pleased to have been offered a Ministerial role with Defence for several reasons - in part, she says, because we have a military that already “commands respect around the world” but also because, as a member of the Territorial Forces herself, she has a sound basis from which to build Defence policy: “I turn up at Defence camps and bases and already know how things work. I’ve been through some of what our service people have been through. So when I talk about formulating policy I’ve actually had some experience on the ground. You can sit in Wellington and read reports till the cows come home, but unless you’ve experienced it yourself, you’ve got no real feeling for what life is like for our soldiers, sailors and air men and women,” she says.
The Minister says she had often considered joining the Army but it wasn’t until she assumed responsibility for matters of national security as part of her ACT Party responsibilities that her interest in military matters was reignited.
A former physiotherapist, she initially joined the Territorial Force as a medic but later transferred to the Engineering Corps as a Field Engineer. Although she has had to hang up her uniform, the Minister says she may return to the TF if circumstances change in the future. “I don’t regret joining the TF for a moment – it was both physically and psychologically challenging. You’re pushed to your limits and expected to put 110% into everything. I learned a lot about myself in the process”
The Minister says New Zealand’s public could do worse than look to the New Zealand Defence Force for lessons in comradeship and cooperation: “You turn up to Basic training, for example, and there’s people from all walks of life, just a real range of socio-economic backgrounds. In the Defence Force it doesn’t matter where you come from; it’s about getting in and doing what you’re there for.”
While she says she hopes certain issues around equipment and procurement will be resolved by the end of this year, she says it’s important to remember that the strength of the Defence Force is due to the people involved. “It’s not really about how many frigates we have or how many aircraft we own – it is primarily about people, the contribution they make and remembering that they need to be looked after”.