Politics
Q and A

Military members aren't paid enough, Defence Minister says

October 16, 2022
Defence Minister Peeni Henare.

The Defence Minister has admitted that even after a budget boost, Defence Force personnel aren’t paid enough.

Minister Peeni Henare told Q+A that attrition rates in the military are among the worst the NZDF has ever seen in peacetime.

Part of the reason for that is a “smoking hot labour market”, and skills shortages in the sorts of trades trained by the military.

“We're not the only country affected by this. The US, Australia have attrition rates about the same as New Zealand,” said Henare.

“So we've got a hot, a white-hot labour market which is taking very skilled, excellent, disciplined and well-trained personnel from the Defence Force and utilising them in their businesses.”

Henare said it's "a particular challenge with remuneration and making sure we have a work environment that they want to work in".

He said it's "why I had always said that infrastructure was a key priority of ours to make sure housing, for example, and the bases are up to the kinds of standards that we expect our Defence Force personnel to live and work in".

Defence Minister Peeni Henare says it’s about ensuring the Defence Force and policy is “fit for purpose in these changing times”.

Defence Force housing currently does not have to comply with the Government’s Healthy Homes Standards, but Henare said from memory it would be brought up to code by mid-2024.

In the last budget, $90 million was put towards raising salaries in the Defence Force.

Henare said while higher pay in the private sector is acting as a pull on personnel, some were also being pushed by frustration and dissatisfaction with military life.

“I’ve spoken to a number who have already just said that the MIQ was the last straw, and I acknowledge that, and I want to thank them for their service,” said Henare.

The top brass of the Defence Force have estimated that it could take up to a decade to refill the vacancies, particularly in mid-level to senior roles which require significant amounts of training and experience.

“The challenge that we have in the NZDF is you can't recruit into middle management – you have to grow them from the bottom."

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