3. Question No. 3—DefenceDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT) to the Minister of DefenceQuestion No. 3—Defence3. Dr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT) to the Minister of Defence: Is he content with the state of morale in the New Zealand Defence Force and how does he plan on resolving the increasing attrition rates across all three branches?SPEAKER: As I call the Minister I want to indicate that I have been forewarned that this is a longer than normal answer.Hon PEENI HENARE (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. In my answer to the first part of the question yes. However I acknowledge that the increased levels of attrition is a challenge for the defence force and as I have met with my counterparts from around the world they too are experiencing the same challenges. The defence force has played a critical role in keeping New Zealanders safe during Operation Protect throughout the COVID-19 pandemic despite the challenging nature of that deployment for our personnel. Now that the borders have opened and countries are slowly getting back to business as usual I'm confident that we will see a corresponding lift in morale for our New Zealand Defence Force as our people can get back to doing more of the overseas deployments that many have signed up for. In my recent travels around the country and in recent days at the Solomon Islands I had the opportunity to speak with the contingent that I travelled with and the morale was high. They told me that now that COVID-19 is in their rear-view mirror they can now get back on with the mahi they look forward to and upcoming deployments. To answer the second part of the question around what my plans are to resolve the attrition issue my answer is that I'm keeping a close eye on these challenges and there are a number of things under way. Through Budget 2022 we secured a significant uplift of $90 million for remuneration. It is my expectation that the focus of this remuneration package is on retaining people with critical skills and supporting our lower-paid defence force staff where required. We are seeing more training exercise opportunities coming up. For example since the start of the year we have had our defence force participate in training operations such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Operation Mahi Tahi global security in Operation Tīeke and capacity building through Tropic Twilight and combat training through Rim of the Pacific. In addition this Government has made significant investments in our defence force after a decade of neglect under National and ACT. Since taking office we have committed approximately $4.5 billion to 12 major defence capability projects the—[Interruption] you might want to listen up—largest capability investment defence has ever received. This year we get the first of our P-8A Poseidon arriving and in the next few years we will be seeing more of these capabilities coming online which will in turn support our attrition challenge. All of these things will contribute to keeping our personnel feeling engaged supported and in the defence force.Dr James McDowall: What does he say to a soldier who has served for more than three years and tells me that he is paid a base salary that equates to less than the minimum wage and does this explain a recent internal survey that showed that 54 percent of army personnel did not agree with the statement The pay I receive is fair for the work I do."?Hon PEENI HENARE: Just in my answer to the primary question I was clear that this Government is committed to supporting remuneration in the defence force. We have invested $90 million in Budget 2022 and I just mentioned in the primary answer that I've made it clear that my expectation is that money is to keep specialist skills and to lift the lowest wages in the defence force. This Government by the nature of its name being supportive of labour in this country is here to support those who need a lift in their pay. We did that through the Budget and I haven't seen anything from either National or ACT that proposes that they will do that.Dr James McDowall: What is his response to another finding in the survey that showed that only 41 percent of army personnel are not actively looking at leaving the New Zealand Defence Force?Hon PEENI HENARE: I say that this is a very tough labour market at the moment and what I also say too is the New Zealand Defence Force train their people exceptionally well. Those skills are sought after skills in multiple labour markets and it's no surprise that this particular challenge isn't just in New Zealand. It's in Australia. It's in the US. It's in Canada. When I speak to my colleagues around the world they have the same challenge as we do. The difference here between this side and that side of the House is we're committed to fixing it.Tim van de Molen: How much of the budgeted increase will actually go to front-line personnel rather than back-office staff?Hon PEENI HENARE: I made it clear in my primary answer to the primary question that the $90 million—I made it clear that it is our expectation that that money will go towards retaining key skills and lifting the lowest in the wage table. So therefore that is my expectation. The decision however is an operational one for the New Zealand Defence Force.Dr James McDowall: How is he addressing the fact that between 2017 and 2021 there were 84 different job types—ranging from infantry to the trades—that failed to meet enlistment targets many of which as he stated in response to my written question are also at risk of not meeting the 2022 enlistment target?Hon PEENI HENARE: Two months ago we announced the defence policy review that sees some key decisions to be made by this Cabinet by this Government as we emerge out of the pandemic and we make sure that our defence force is fit for purpose. We've got some key decisions to make and I'm committed to our defence force personnel to make sure that they get the support that they need to continue to do the great work that they do for this country. I'm proud of our defence force and I'm getting sick and tired of the other side talking them down.Dr James McDowall: Does he think that morale is helped when houses in the defence estate look like this [Holds up picture of a house] and how can he be seriously confident that the remaining $6.8 million for getting their entire estate up to healthy homes will be sufficient?Hon PEENI HENARE: First of all I'm confident we'll hit the target for healthy homes in the defence force. Secondly what I'll say is right across the board in housing this Government has been committed to housing. I made it clear in my priorities in the defence force that infrastructure was one of those key areas. I note too when I did that the other side of the House rubbished it. Therefore investing infrastructure is hugely important and what I'll also note is when they had the defence portfolio they invested nothing in housing."