2013 Budget

[ngatimozart]

Just had a look at The Press update and graphic for the budget. It appears that Defence has 11.09% increase in the budget up to $3 Billion. The largest increase seems to be Capital Expenditure up 83.3% to $583 million. New Zealand 2013 Budget Interactive Visualisation NZDF is at about the 10 O' clock position on the graphic. Click on that and it will bring up the NZDF graphic.

Now I better go and get the angina spray. Such a shock to the system.

[Dave Homewood]

This comes from the Global Times
www.globaltimes.cn/content/782346.shtml

Funding boosts New Zealand's frontline military capability: defense minister
Xinhua | 2013-5-17 13:47:43
By Agencies

Increases to the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) budget and cost savings are helping to improve military capability across all three services, Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman said Friday.

"In the year to July 2013, the NZDF will deliver 190 million NZ dollars (153.87 million US dollars) in savings after achieving 140 million NZ dollars in the year prior," Coleman said in a statement the day after the government delivered its annual budget.

"These savings free up resources to improve the Defense Force's military capability. The Defense Force budget estimate for 2013 sees increases across a range of military outputs, such as land combat forces, naval patrol and support forces, and fixed wing transport forces," he said.

The funds would be used to move from the back office to the frontline.

"There has also been a significant increase to the defense capital budget reflecting the military upgrade projects the government has approved, including the ANZAC frigate system upgrade, Seasprite helicopter replacements, and new medium and heavy trucks," said the minister.

"This sees the NZDF capital expenditure budget increase from 318 million NZ dollars to 583 million NZ dollars for the financial year," he added.

[madmac]

"funds would be used to move from the back office to the frontline", so that means the doing the paper work on the front line. NZDF already has serous issues with maintenance of its institutional knowledge.

[ngatimozart]

This is the Defence News story.
www.defensenews.com/article/20130516/DEFREG03/305160013/NZ-Budget-Holds-Steady-Air-Force-Gains?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|World%20News|p

NZ Budget Holds Steady, Air Force Gains

May. 16, 2013 - 10:08AM |
By NICK LEE-FRAMPTON |

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — New Zealand’s spending on defense is little changed from the NZ $2.9 billion (then US $2.2 billion) for 2012-2013 to NZ $2.87 billion for 2013-2014.

The details, announced in the May 16 budget, include a marked reduction in spending on the Royal New Zealand Navy, a decrease in the Army’s budget and a modest increase for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Funding for the Navy drops from NZ $662 million to just under NZ $600 million.

Spending on the Army falls from NZ $845 million to NZ $810 million while the Air Force enjoys a surge from NZ $790 million to just over NZ $803 million.

However, there are rises and falls within all three services. For example, the Navy’s budget for the patrol force (including two offshore and four inshore patrol vessels) rises from NZ$126 million to NZ $131 million. The joint funding for the fleet tanker and the amphibious support ship Canterbury is raised from NZ $100 million to NZ $110 million.

At the same time, the littoral warfare support budget, which includes mine countermeasures, is reduced and the fiscal support for the Navy’s two Anzac-class frigates drops from NZ $338 million to NZ $325 million.

Reflecting New Zealand’s withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, the allocation for operationally deployed forces tumbles from NZ $65 million to just NZ $27.6 million.

The allowance for land combat support forces (which includes artillery, engineers and communications) is slightly reduced, whereas funding for Special Operations Forces is boosted from NZ $80 million to NZ $87 million.

The Air Force’s helicopters, the NH90s and A109s of 3 Squadron, enjoy an increase from NZ $221 million to NZ $246 million, while the naval helicopter force of Kaman Seasprites also shows a slight increase, from NZ $86 million to NZ $91 million.

The Air Force’s RNZAF’s fleet of six P-3K2 Orions, officially titled the Airborne Surveillance and Response Force, enjoys a marked increase in funds from NZ $182 million to almost NZ $203 million.

The Ministry of Defence is allocated more funds, too, rising from NZ $164 million to NZ $241 million.

[meo4]

Good to see the RNZAF budget increased but they do spend quite a bit on transporting the Army around though. Hopefully the RNZN budget will increase once the ships come out of refit and more ships go back to sea. I think the littoral warfare decrease was due to Resolution being decommissioned.
Only in NZ a nation surrounded by ocean would spend more on land forces than maritime forces .

[Dave Homewood]

That is because we have no air forces to protect the floating targets of the sea forces so you might as well have a bloody good land force.

[ngatimozart]

Yeah well I hope the grunts and LAVs are good at swimming and flying then

I've been thinking about the figures that the Stuff graphic cited and the Defence News cited. There is a noticeable difference and so I went to the NZ Herald site but couldn't find any details. Scoop have an interactive graphic which quotes similar figures to the Stuff interactive graphic. I'll have to do some researcvh and look at the actual budget figures. Mind 11% would be around NZ$300-350 million of which a large chunk would be the extra they put into CAPEX.

[meo4]

I would hardly call them floating targets a least they can shoot back at least defend themselves aka CIWS , sea sparrow , 5 inch gun unlike the other two services who have nil AA defences. (Which is why we have a joint NZDF) .After the frigate upgrade the ANZACs will far more capable AA ship with new radars and 32 active missiles.
Besides that I would rather have money spent on securing our borders policing /customs protecting fishing stock ,SAR , spending money on the Naval patrol force and the RNZAFs Maritime patrol force opposed to having a large chunk spent having wars against cardboard figure 8s in Waiouru .

[ngatimozart]

I've found the Treasury document for Vote: NZDF. If you look at the pdf from Treasury, you'll see that Vote: Defence Force for 2013/14 is $3,018.9 million compared to actual expenditure for 2012/13 0f $2,559.1 million which is an increase of $460 million in the 2013/14 budget. Thats around 11%. Well that's the way I read it anyway. I'm not an accountant. So I think that Lee-Frampton has got it wrong in his article in Defence News.
Vote Defence Force - Estimates of Appropriations 2013/14 - Budget 2013

[kiwithrottlejockey]

SIR BOB JONES: NZ should abolish its armed forces

Being military-free would be something to be really proud of and would help New Zealand's economy to boot.

The New Zealand Herald | 5:30AM - Tuesday, May 21, 2013



IN CONVERSATION RECENTLY, the subject turned to the most anger-making aspect of humankind. For me it's the disgraceful waste of trillions of dollars annually on militarism.

Currently our navy is soliciting armament manufacturers for the latest submarine detector equipment costing tens of millions of dollars. Why? Opposition defence spokesman Phil Goff summed it up well, saying, "There might be foreign submarines in our waters or there might not. Who cares?" I'll tell you who should. The sucker taxpayer in any visiting submarine's home country, having to pay for this silliness.

We provide aid to Tonga and Fiji yet both maintain costly armies, navies and air forces. Why? Who's going to attack them? Belgium? Moldova? Guatemala?

Well, actually nobody. Apart from earning mercenary fees the only function the Fijian army has served is to usurp democracy and establish military dictatorships headed by screaming halfwits. Come to think of it, the first of these, the Rabuka buffoon, promised a libel action against me for saying he failed school certificate three times.

Apparently he only failed it twice, but I'm still awaiting the writ. It's unsurprising Samoa has no armed forces for the praying nonsense aside, they're sensible people, inclined towards measured consideration before any action.

Many readers will know Spain and be saddened reading of its current woes. While the source of their troubles is the ill-considered euro, Spain's 26 per cent unemployment rate and horrendous 60 per cent with its under 25s, plus the forced austerity, are compounded by it wasting €8 billion annually on ridiculous armed forces. Who are they worried about? Tunisia? Malta? Austria? No one threatens them. Excluding brief skirmishes when they lost their colonies, the last external war Spain was involved in goes back two centuries to Napoleonic times.

This farcical situation arises because they're members of NATO, a military pact now redundant with the end of the Cold War. The perceived Russian expansionism threat was an ideological rather than territorial ambition.

Similar preposterous waste exists worldwide. Consider Bulgaria, currently reeling economically, so much so six young men have publicly committed suicide by immolation in recent months, protesting the austerity measures. Yet Bulgaria maintains sizeable armed forces.

Again, why? They even have a navy which perchance not long ago I viewed in the company of a retired US admiral. He shook his head in wonderment and told me modern technology would wipe the lot out in two minutes from 160km away. So again, why? The answer: the idiots joined NATO. If Bulgaria wiped out its armed forces it could pay its national debt off inside four years. Much the same applies to numerous other nations.

Countries needing military forces are few in number. Obviously Israel, likewise Japan because of the North Korean lunatic, Taiwan to make a mainland military unification threat not worthwhile, India and Pakistan because of ... well, because of no good reason other than infantile mutual contempt, both spending massive sums while hundreds of millions of their citizens are impoverished.

We need a small navy for fisheries and that's it, although it could be a division of the police. Late last year our navy engaged in war games with Australia, Britain, Singapore and Malaysia off the coast of China, now our largest trading partner. Why? Imagine the hullabaloo if the Chinese reciprocated with their newly reconditioned aircraft carrier off our coast, accompanied by the rest of their navy.

The great example to the world is Costa Rica. Surrounded by similarly impoverished, highly militarised tin-pot nations, but fed-up with military coups, it abolished its armed forces in 1949. Ever since it's flourished, now having the highest education and health standards in Latin America, Chile excepted.

It's even rated the world's greenest nation thanks to its now affordable Government measures. Meanwhile its Central American neighbours wallow in poverty, spending 60 per cent of their budgets on scruffy armies, despite having no potential enemies. Panama sensibly emulated Costa Rica and abolished its armed forces a decade back, and is enjoying a rapidly rising living standard now they're no longer wasting half their budget.

Idle armies often cause mischief in underdeveloped nations, as we constantly witness in Africa. Consider the infamous 1969 soccer war between El Salvador and neighbouring Honduras.

In their World Cup eligibility series, each game was followed by rioting resulting in some deaths. In protest El Salvador invaded Honduras. Both sides bombed one another's capitals with decrepit airplanes. Over 3000 deaths ensued, mainly Hondurans and unsurprisingly, as is usually the case, mostly civilians. Outside action duly put a stop to it.

New Zealand should wipe out its armed forces. Early in her Administration Helen Clark took a progressive step, grounding our air force's ridiculous fighter planes, thereby saving around $3 billion in running costs until they were finally sold.

Instead of childish rubbish such as the nuclear-free boast, being military-free would be something to be truly proud of and if the Aussies and Americans don't like it, well, bad luck, they'll get over it.

www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10884948

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Sir Bob Jones sure likes coming out with controversial stuff.

Sometimes, you don't know whether he is being serious, or simply "taking the piss!"

[ngatimozart]

Be nice if the world was a safe place but it aint. End of story.

[Dave Homewood]

Bob Jones is one of NZ's biggest blow hards and always has been.

[Peter Lewis]

May 21, 2013 14:41:13 GMT 12 kiwithrottlejockey said:

We provide aid to Tonga and Fiji yet both maintain costly armies, navies and air forces.

Well golly gosh, you learn something new every day.

I never knew Fiji had an air force.

Thanks Bob.

[ngatimozart]

Talking of Fiji, their Glorious Leader, the Commodore Bainimarama, is off to Beijing to have talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. "The self-appointed prime minister has previously said he wants to ditch traditional ties with regional powerhouses Australia and New Zealand and align his Pacific Island nation with China. He said the Chinese understood the reforms he has been trying to implement before a return to democratic elections scheduled for next year. He also chaired a recent meeting of the Group of 77 developing nations and China." Fiji turns to Russia, China amid strained regional ties. He is meeting with president Putin of Russia whilst at the World Rugby Sevens Championships. So he wants Chinese aid and PLA help with the Fijian Army and Navy. He will also be after Russian military aid.

[adzze]

May 21, 2013 18:54:20 GMT 12 ngatimozart said:

Talking of Fiji, their Glorious Leader, the Commodore Bainimarama, is off to Beijing to have talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. [...] He is meeting with president Putin of Russia whilst at the World Rugby Sevens Championships. So he wants Chinese aid and PLA help with the Fijian Army and Navy. He will also be after Russian military aid.

But did he pass School C??

[ngatimozart]

May 21, 2013 19:37:51 GMT 12 adzze said:

May 21, 2013 18:54:20 GMT 12 ngatimozart said:

Talking of Fiji, their Glorious Leader, the Commodore Bainimarama, is off to Beijing to have talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. [...] He is meeting with president Putin of Russia whilst at the World Rugby Sevens Championships. So he wants Chinese aid and PLA help with the Fijian Army and Navy. He will also be after Russian military aid.

But did he pass School C??

If he didn't I am sure he would've issued a decree changing the results to show that he did.