Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 15, 2011 0:00:12 GMT 12
NZ military's 'spin' doctors under fire
NEIL REID
Last updated 05:00 11/09/2011
Documents obtained by the Sunday Star-Times show the department – covering Army, Air Force and Navy – spent more than $2.7 million in the past financial year on public relations and communications.
Defence Force top brass has confirmed that one of the roles of the communications team was to vet all footage and imagery produced by media who are embedded with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.
The release of the department's PR budget – which covered 28 staff and five contractors – follows claims in a new book by Nicky Hager – Other People's Wars – that officials had hoodwinked the public with coverage from Afghanistan.
Green Party MP Keith Locke, who provided the figures, said the revelations should prompt a review of the Defence Force's strategy.
"Too much time and money is being spent on media spin," he said. "They shouldn't be taking a lot of their time and effort – and the taxpayer's money – hiding things."
Locke also questioned the expenditure at a time of austerity.
"If they are a bit hard up for money and the government is cutting expenditure in a number of its areas, then wouldn't it serve the public to cut the PR?"
The figures show the Defence Force communications budget for the 2010-11 financial year was $2,731,675. In the previous financial year, it budgeted $2,842,880 for public relations and communications, up $667,636 on the previous 12 months. Those figures sky-rocketed from the 2007-08 and 2006-2007 financial years, when defence spent $1,636,283 and $1,542,208 on communications.
Locke also provided the Star-Times with a contract TVNZ signed before sending a journalist to join the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, which states the role of defence officials included "media product vetting".
It follows claims by Hager that the Defence Force had been selective in what it had allowed to be reported in New Zealand on the role of the joint-services team in Afghanistan.
That included an alleged black-out over the fact the PRT shared its Bamiyan Province base with American intelligence specialists and claims Defence officials had misled the government over the Afghanistan deployment.
Hager last night said: "Those figures are really illuminating. It is such a waste. That is public money, it is not Defence Force money. And if it gets used to hide things from the public or give selective or incorrect information to the public there is something really seriously bad going on."
Commander Phil Bradshaw, director of the Defence Force communications team, told the Star-Times that the department did "vet" images and film footage produced by embedded media. That was driven by the need to protect the interests of personnel.
"If you are talking about imagery, the classic things we have are tactics and training procedures," Bradshaw said.
There is also equipment. If you look at the LAVs [light armoured vehicles], the Humvees or whatever equipment we have got, some of it is classified. "The vetting we do is from a security perspective. We do not vet from a public information perspective. From our perspective, we give them [journalists] as much freedom as we possibly can."
Bradshaw said a communications team of "36-odd" staff was not excessive for a department of about 15,000 people.
Key duties could not be outsourced due to the issue of security clearances, he said.
Defence minister Wayne Mapp also defended the size of the communications budget. "Communications across the NZDF is important to keep all personnel in touch with the wider organisation. In addition there is considerable public interest in Defence Force activities both within New Zealand and across our offshore deployments," he said.
Locke released the Defence Force's PR spend a month after revealing that it spent a further $16m over the past three years with advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi for various promotional campaigns. On top of that figure, a further $4.2m was spent placing adverts in the media.
SAS PULLS PIN ON GYM OPENING
Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata has become a master of escape and evasion during his time with the SAS. And he showed his rapid retreat tactics again in Auckland last week.
Apiata who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2007 following an act of bravery in Afghanistan was supposed to be the official opener of Auckland gym SpecForce Fitness on Thursday night. But his services were withdrawn after an article about the gym opening appeared on the Stuff website.
Gym manager Scott Cottier said the official reason he was given by the Defence Force was that Apiata had commitments with the SAS.
"He didn't attend ... I can't explain too much, just work-related," he said.
The gym went into a media lockdown after Stuff's earlier story.
Despite being invited to attend the opening function, photographers were banned from entering.
The reason given was that there were past or present SAS members in attendance.
Commander Phil Bradshaw, director of the Defence Force's communications team, said there was nothing untoward behind Apiata's scratching. He said Apiata was required for SAS training. Bradshaw said the invite was issued on a "personal level" from Cottier and not sanctioned through the New Zealand Defence Force.
- Sunday Star Times
www.stuff.co.nz/national/5602406/NZ-militarys-spin-doctors-under-fire
NEIL REID
Last updated 05:00 11/09/2011
Documents obtained by the Sunday Star-Times show the department – covering Army, Air Force and Navy – spent more than $2.7 million in the past financial year on public relations and communications.
Defence Force top brass has confirmed that one of the roles of the communications team was to vet all footage and imagery produced by media who are embedded with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.
The release of the department's PR budget – which covered 28 staff and five contractors – follows claims in a new book by Nicky Hager – Other People's Wars – that officials had hoodwinked the public with coverage from Afghanistan.
Green Party MP Keith Locke, who provided the figures, said the revelations should prompt a review of the Defence Force's strategy.
"Too much time and money is being spent on media spin," he said. "They shouldn't be taking a lot of their time and effort – and the taxpayer's money – hiding things."
Locke also questioned the expenditure at a time of austerity.
"If they are a bit hard up for money and the government is cutting expenditure in a number of its areas, then wouldn't it serve the public to cut the PR?"
The figures show the Defence Force communications budget for the 2010-11 financial year was $2,731,675. In the previous financial year, it budgeted $2,842,880 for public relations and communications, up $667,636 on the previous 12 months. Those figures sky-rocketed from the 2007-08 and 2006-2007 financial years, when defence spent $1,636,283 and $1,542,208 on communications.
Locke also provided the Star-Times with a contract TVNZ signed before sending a journalist to join the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, which states the role of defence officials included "media product vetting".
It follows claims by Hager that the Defence Force had been selective in what it had allowed to be reported in New Zealand on the role of the joint-services team in Afghanistan.
That included an alleged black-out over the fact the PRT shared its Bamiyan Province base with American intelligence specialists and claims Defence officials had misled the government over the Afghanistan deployment.
Hager last night said: "Those figures are really illuminating. It is such a waste. That is public money, it is not Defence Force money. And if it gets used to hide things from the public or give selective or incorrect information to the public there is something really seriously bad going on."
Commander Phil Bradshaw, director of the Defence Force communications team, told the Star-Times that the department did "vet" images and film footage produced by embedded media. That was driven by the need to protect the interests of personnel.
"If you are talking about imagery, the classic things we have are tactics and training procedures," Bradshaw said.
There is also equipment. If you look at the LAVs [light armoured vehicles], the Humvees or whatever equipment we have got, some of it is classified. "The vetting we do is from a security perspective. We do not vet from a public information perspective. From our perspective, we give them [journalists] as much freedom as we possibly can."
Bradshaw said a communications team of "36-odd" staff was not excessive for a department of about 15,000 people.
Key duties could not be outsourced due to the issue of security clearances, he said.
Defence minister Wayne Mapp also defended the size of the communications budget. "Communications across the NZDF is important to keep all personnel in touch with the wider organisation. In addition there is considerable public interest in Defence Force activities both within New Zealand and across our offshore deployments," he said.
Locke released the Defence Force's PR spend a month after revealing that it spent a further $16m over the past three years with advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi for various promotional campaigns. On top of that figure, a further $4.2m was spent placing adverts in the media.
SAS PULLS PIN ON GYM OPENING
Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata has become a master of escape and evasion during his time with the SAS. And he showed his rapid retreat tactics again in Auckland last week.
Apiata who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2007 following an act of bravery in Afghanistan was supposed to be the official opener of Auckland gym SpecForce Fitness on Thursday night. But his services were withdrawn after an article about the gym opening appeared on the Stuff website.
Gym manager Scott Cottier said the official reason he was given by the Defence Force was that Apiata had commitments with the SAS.
"He didn't attend ... I can't explain too much, just work-related," he said.
The gym went into a media lockdown after Stuff's earlier story.
Despite being invited to attend the opening function, photographers were banned from entering.
The reason given was that there were past or present SAS members in attendance.
Commander Phil Bradshaw, director of the Defence Force's communications team, said there was nothing untoward behind Apiata's scratching. He said Apiata was required for SAS training. Bradshaw said the invite was issued on a "personal level" from Cottier and not sanctioned through the New Zealand Defence Force.
- Sunday Star Times
www.stuff.co.nz/national/5602406/NZ-militarys-spin-doctors-under-fire
At least he's only there another two months till he's off to his new village idiot job. 
Of course - silly me. I thought they had just censored it out of the photos