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The Ministry of Defence ( mi, Manatū Kaupapa Waonga) is the public service department of New Zealand responsible for advising the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
on strategic defence policy, acquiring military equipment to meet defence capability and conducting audits and assessments of the New Zealand Defence Force.


History

The Defence Act, passed on 17 November 1964, established a new Ministry of Defence. Under the Act the three Service departments were combined into the new Ministry. The central core of the new Ministry of Defence was the central Defence Office. A Defence Council was established which consisted of: *Minister of Defence *Chief of Defence Staff *Secretary of Defence *Chiefs of Staff from the three Services *Co-opted members if required (especially the Secretaries of External Affairs and Treasury) The Defence Council was responsible for: *Administering and commanding the Services *Advising the Minister on defence policy *Integrating common functions where desirable and practical The boards for each service continued to exist, but they acted under delegated power from the Defence Council. The Chiefs of Staff Committee was retained, but as a committee of the Defence Council. (The Defence Council was later abolished under the Defence Act 1990). In 1969-71 moves were implemented to provide a fully centralised administration in control of all non-operational functions previously within the responsibility of the three services. These changes were embodied in a further Defence Act that came into effect on 1 April 1972. The Service Boards were abolished and their functions divided between the Chiefs of Staff and a central Defence Headquarters that replaced the Defence Office. The disadvantage of the continued existence of the Service Boards had been one that the one Service could still express its views to the Minister independently of the other Services. Policy formation and planning, logistics and supply, personnel, administration, finance, civil management, and management services were transferred to the central Defence Headquarters. Each Chief of Staff and their separate Headquarters were now only concerned with operational matters. In 1989 Defence was separated into two separate bodies – the Ministry of Defence headed by the
Secretary of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...
, the senior civilian officer and the
New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...
headed by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF), the senior military officer. Both are equally answerable to the Minister of Defence for their individual elements. Under the CDF are the three service chiefs who, as the senior officers of their individual services, act as advisors to CDF and provide forces as required.


Responsibilities

In 1999 James Rolfe described in ''The Armed Forces of New Zealand'' the then structure of the Ministry of Defence. It numbered only about 70 people in total, with three divisions involved in policy: Policy Division, Acquisition Division, and Evaluation Division. Also part of the structure were Corporate Services Division and Corporate Finance Division. The Ministry is responsible for the following functions: * Providing advice to the New Zealand Government on the Defence of New Zealand and its national interests, * Acquisition of Military Equipment, * Assessment and audit of the New Zealand Defence Force functions, duties and projects.


See also

*
Minister of Defence (New Zealand) The Minister of Defence is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the New Zealand Defence Force and the Ministry of Defence. The present Minister is Peeni Henare, a member of the Labour Party. History Initially ...
*
New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...
*
Defence Diplomacy In international politics, defence diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives through the peaceful employment of defence resources and capabilities. Origin of concept Defence diplomacy as an organizing concept for defence-relate ...
*
Military history of New Zealand The military history of New Zealand is an aspect of the history of New Zealand that spans several hundred years. When first settled by Māori almost a millennium ago, there was much land and resources, but war began to break out as the country' ...


References


Further reading

*James Rolfe, Defending New Zealand: A Study of Structures, Processes and Relationships. Institute of Policy Studies,
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...
, 1993.


External links

* {{Authority control
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...