THE PRESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1986. The question of defence

Press, 16 January 1986, Page 16

THE PRESS THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1986. The question of defence

The Government publication, “The Defence Question: a discussion paper” is one of the most interesting public documents on defence issued by a New Zealand Government. Within 15 pages, the discussion paper raises most of the issues that have been brought forward about New Zealand defence and states a series of issues and problems which are familiar among those with some professional interest in the subject, but which rarely rate a mention among some of the recent public discussions. The paper does not avoid the fundamental question of whether New Zealand needs defence forces at all. It defines what is meant by defence; raises the question of whether defence can be non-violent; looks at the view that it is useless to bother about defence in a nuclear age; looks at armed neutrality as a choice, and at whether New Zealand has responsibilities in any area other than the security of the homeland of New Zealand.

The discussion paper is not the first attempt to stimulate a debate on defence questions in New Zealand; but it is the liveliest, and the first that tackles head on some of the questions that are raised by anti-nuclear groups and the advocates of various kinds of selfdefence. Too often the defence debate in New Zealand has started with the question: who threatens us? If a simple reply is not forthcoming immediately, it is assumed that the subject of defence is closed. For those who favour a strong defence posture, the absence of a readily and immediately identifiable threat can be made to look like an awkward gap in the argument. If the question is looked at so that some of the complexities are considered, it would seem that New Zealand is not immune from some of the defence problems which are the lot of other countries.

The discussion paper identifies six threats to New Zealand territory and seven threats to the South Pacific region. A less warmongering or alarmist discussion paper can scarcely be imagined; but it nevertheless looks hard at New Zealand’s interests and its strategic concerns. The point is not that no-one has ever considered these points before. Some of them

have been touched on in the proliferation of Defence Reviews New Zealand has had over recent years. Some of them have been touched on in annual reports of the Ministry of Defence. They have certainly been discussed in the “New Zealand International Review” and in various publications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The point is that the Government is taking consideration of defence to the wider public. So often in the past, defence and strategic affairs generally have been discussed in a group which may be sketchily described as the foreign affairs establishment; or they have been discussed among groups who feel themselves opposed to the foreign affairs establishment. What the discussion paper is doing is drawing all the strands of thinking together. The discussion paper is not a statement of Government policy. It is intended to be a stimulus to public discussion. The Government has embarked on a process of public inquiry and submissions have to be made to the Defence Inquiry Committee by February 28. Anyone who intends to make submissions to that committee will need to take account of the points raised in the discussion paper. People who do not take account of the points will be wasting both their time and the time of the Defence Inquiry Committee. The attempt to get some resolution of ideas in New Zealand about New Zealand’s national interests, about security, about what type of military forces New Zealand needs, about New Zealand’s defence responsibilities to the South Pacific islands and to Australia, is a bold one. It should be taken seriously. Thereafter, it should be possible to consider the issues publicly with some chance of the participants sharing a common background of knowledge. The purpose of the paper is partly to inform the public of the questions about defence that have to be answered, and presumably will be answered by the Committee of Inquiry. Most important, the paper sketches the arguments on a number of defence questions and propositions, and anyone making submissions to the committee will not get past first base unless these arguments are respected.