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The New Zealand government has unveiled sweeping reforms aimed at growing its local defence sector under a new Defence Industry Strategy.
The announcement was made on Friday alongside plans to increase defence spending by NZ$9 billion over the next four years, with a longer-term goal of raising defence expenditure to 2 per cent of GDP within eight years.
Judith Collins, the country’s Defence Minister, said that procurement rules will be amended so that multinational suppliers must incorporate local businesses when carrying out defence contracts.
The aim is to ensure that New Zealand-based companies are more deeply involved in both equipment delivery and the sustainment of defence capabilities.
A new military technology fund valued between NZ$100 million and NZ$300 million will be established to promote innovation in advanced technologies for military use.
The government also plans a biennial review of its Defence Capability Plan, with the next plan due in 2027.
Though New Zealand already has an industrial base of around 800 defence suppliers, most of its major procurements have, till now, come from multinational corporations.
Under the new strategy, emphasis will be placed on subcontracting, technology transfer, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the defence supply chain.
Defence Minister Collins remarked, “When the world around us is changing at such a pace, we need to change our approach to how we equip our Defence Force, and we need to work in partnership with industry to be better together.”
