New Zealand's defense budget predicted to surge by nearly $472M

The New Zealand government will provide an additional NZ$748 million ($472.14 million) to the New Zealand Defense Force over the next four years in an effort to stop the loss of military personnel and ensure that the country's armed forces can work with allies and partners.

The New Zealand government will spend an additional NZ$419 million on military salaries and NZ$328 million to upgrade equipment and infrastructure over the course of the following four years, according to Andrew Little, the country's defense minister.

Minister Little said that with climate change and an increasingly challenging geostrategic environment, including in the nation’s Pacific neighborhood, the government found it important that New Zealand had the manpower and equipment to play its part in supporting global peace and security.

Due to high staff attrition, the New Zealand military force has been struggling, which has caused the idleness of three ships and the early retirement of the P-3 Orion aircraft fleet. These have significantly decreased New Zealand's ability to conduct air surveillance.

The difficulties arise from growing Pacific Ocean competition, an increase in the frequency of natural disasters due to climate change, and New Zealand's military assistance to Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

Excluding those who have served for less than two years, the Regular Force, which consists of full-time military personnel, has lost 29.8% of its workforce over the past two years. If nothing is done, that percentage is predicted to reach 32.6% by June 30 due to the defense force's difficulty matching private-sector wages.