N.Z. to own defence satellite

Press, 3 December 1987, Page 1

N.Z. to own defence satellite

Bv <

OLIVER RIDDELL

jjy W A-av xvAfcr ***-<*-*- in Wellington New Zealand will have its own defence satellite communication station, at a site in the Waihopai Valley near Blenheim. The Government has completed negotiations to buy a 77acre block of land and is negotiating to buy a 20-acre block. Waihopai had been chosen for technical reasons, said the Prime Minister, Mr Lange. These included lack of radio interference, climate, freedom from salt erosion, and the availability of support from the R.N.Z.A.F. base at nearby Woodbourne. A satellite dish would be built, starting in 1988, and the station

should be operational in 1989, he said. The Defence White Paper had committed the Government to a more self-reliant defence policy, which involved greater independence in intelligence matters. Mr Lange said that for years there had been concern about New, Zealand’s dependence on others for intelligence. While New Zealand would continue, to co-operate closely with Australia, particularly on the security of the South Pacific, it was vitally important to have its own means of knowing what was going on in the region. The Waihopai Valley station would be staffed and run by the Government Communications Security Bureau.