R.S.A. still supports renewal of frigates

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 2

R.S.A. still supports renewal of frigates

PA Wellington The Navy should not be reduced to a Coast Guard, the Returned Services Association’s president, Alan Johnston, says. Experts had told the R.S.A. that that would happen if the Navy was forced to replace its frigates with corvettes, he said. The R.S.A. executive was concerned enough about the issue to reaffirm its policy recently that New Zealand should have adequate forces to enable it to play a full and proper part in regional security. The executive also supported the Minister of Defence’s statement that money from the sale of defence assets should go back into the defence vote. Mr Johnston said the R.S.A. wanted the Navy to retain its present oceangoing capability and be an effective and compatible partner with Australia. “Our Government’s policy is a concern for the Pacific, our own area, and you will not do that with small coastal ships," he said.

“They have to be big enough to cover contingencies, to move through the islands as required.”

Mr Johnston said the debate on the frigate replacements had been coloured by too much uninformed rhetoric. He thought the Government may have stood back from the debate so that pressure groups could talk their credibility out of existence. Mr Johnston said the association did not normally enter into public debate on the suitability of items of defence equipment but it was time some attempt was made to counter the flow of “emotive, and mostly uninformed” rhetoric which was claiming news media attention. “What appears to have been overlooked so far is that frigates already form part of our naval force and surely it is no more than good management to have an assets renewal programme which will allow them to be systematically replaced with newer, more efficient models.” Mr Johnston said the R.S.A. would not like to see any deterioration in other defence force capabilities as a result of the funding of the replacement ships.

He called on the Government to reassure the public on the future effectiveness of its defence forces by explaining how the frigate replacements and their running costs will be funded.