Subs too costly a defence for N.Z.

Press, 12 March 1985, Page 1

Subs too costly a defence for N.Z.

PA Wellington New Zealand is no longer considering forming a submarine force, and in future will concentrate on surface combat ships, said the Minister of Defence, Mr O’Flynn, yesterday. The over-riding reason for rejecting the submarine option was its incompatibility with the Government’s defence policy, said Mr O’Flynn. Studies in the last year and a half had shown the cost of establishing a modest submarine fleet, together with the construction of support facilities, could exceed $1.6 billion.

“This is more than the Government is prepared to spend on a submarine force,” the Minister said. It had been decided that the Navy should concentrate its studies of future requirements on the maintenance of a core of surface combat ships, capitalising on investment already made and the expertise the Navy already possessed, he said.

These studies would be an ‘essential ingredient” of the present over-all review of defence requirements. The Minister paid tribute to the help given to the Royal New Zealand Navy by the Royal Australian Navy in the course of the submarine investigation, and said he was sure the study could provide a model for future co-operation between the two navies.