Mark RonHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. Well it is actually with a great deal of pleasure that I rise to speak in reply to the Prime Minister's statement. It has been a very good couple of years and particularly the last year has been very good for the New Zealand Defence Force. And might I add it has been very very good for the nation as a whole—in particular for our communities and for our nation because of the huge level of support that the Defence Force has been able to lend to communities at various times when they have been under stress and when they have been suffering the effects of nature.It has been pleasing that we are finally able to respond in the way in which we have in support of other Government agencies whether it's been the Department of Conservation and the sterling work they are doing down in the Antipodes and up at the Kermadecs; whether it's been in support of the Antarctic operations; whether it's been in support of the West Coasters who have suffered pretty badly as a result of flooding; whether it's been in support of those people—local government agencies the Department of Conservation the Ministry for the Environment—who were struggling with the clean-up as a result of the flooding that washed out the rubbish dump out on to the West Coast around Franz Josef.It's been a very good year for the country as the Defence Force was able to lean in and support police and in fact run a recovery operation at White Island to recover the bodies of the deceased who were caught in that volcanic eruption. It's been a very good year for our Pacific Island partners whom we have deployed in support of. It's been a very good year for the Solomons who have conducted an election and have been able to be supported by our Defence Force. It's been a very good year for a Government who's been able to draw on the support of our women and our men in uniform of our Defence Force to any number—and I think there are 57 named operations in one year and that is without mentioning the ongoing work at Taji in the defeat ISIS" campaign globally the work in South Sudan supporting the United Nations in Korea and the Multinational Force & Observers in the Sinai in support of the United Nations in Golan and the on-site operations and I could name many many more.But the reason that the Defence Force has been able to do these things is because of the unprecedented amount of support that's come from the coalition Government. I'm going to acknowledge the Green Party here who are—and I remember very clearly in the campaign in the Wairarapa when there were people saying things like "Well you don't want to vote for New Zealand First because if you do that you're going to get a three-headed monster and the Defence Force will never get any money." It might have been Alastair Scott but I won't say it was; Alastair Scott's right across the aisle from me having a chuckle right now. People were saying if New Zealand First gets into Government and if they form a coalition with Labour and if that involves the Green Party that's it—the New Zealand Defence Force won't get a brass razoo.Well my oh my oh my. Look at what has happened with the last two Budgets. We have seen from this coalition Government and support from our confidence and supply partners the greatest injection into the Defence Force in capital expenditure that people can remember or think of since possibly the 1960s when we deployed—we won't get into that debate: whether it was right or wrong—into Vietnam the greatest injection of capital funding. We have made decisions that are intergenerational—they are generational decisions decisions that should have one would have thought been made by a conservative Government made up of the National Party and the ACT Party at some point in time over the last nine years or the previous nine years. Decisions weren't—all but one and I'll give the credit to the Hon Gerry Brownlee because he is the one National Party MP who held the position of Minister of Defence who actually did get some things done. And we will take receipt of HMNZS Aotearoa—which was his work getting it through Cabinet—this year and I will make sure that Mr Gerry Brownlee is there to see that ship when she arrives in Devonport. But other than that it was a big fat nothing.This is the Government who has delivered the replacement for the P-3s—aircraft that go back to the 1960s. This is the Government that is on track to deliver the replacement. In fact we've already announced we're going to the C-130 Super Hercs the replacements for our 1960s era—and they should be retired straight into the Museum of Transport and Technology these aircraft they're that old. They're the oldest H-model Hercules flying in the world and some parts are literally being held together with duct tape. But this is the Government that is making the decision to replace these aircraft. Nobody else. These aircraft should have been replaced 15 years ago. This Government has made that decision.This is the Government that in 11 months flat delivered a hydro dive hydro capability that wasn't on track to be delivered for another six years. This Government is committed to supporting the women and the men of our defence forces that they may be properly trained properly staffed properly equipped that when they deploy internationally to undertake the missions that the Government gives them they are able to do them successfully with distinction and come home to their families safely.This is the Government and this will be—I have only two priorities this year in terms of capability. One is to get the Hercules done and dusted. We'll do that. The second is to get protected mobility for the army—and we know what we need there. I tried desperately as an Opposition MP to stop the procurement of the light armoured vehicles. Now I have the unfortunate task of selling them because they are not fit for the purposes that we require of them in the modern battlefield context. They're not and it's a sadness that we lost our air combat capability as a result of that rather stupid decision but it wasn't my decision.This is the Government that has delivered Network Enabled Army tranche 2. This is the Government that has delivered the NH90 simulator. This is the Government that signed up and delivered new King Airs and returned pilot training from Australia back to Ōhākea. This is the Government that's already committed about $3 billion of defence investment. And this is the Government that has invested in the P-8s which will result in infrastructure in Ōhākea delivering a build in infrastructure that will build or provide about a $400 million economic boost to the Manawatū region as families from Whenuapai move down and occupy houses as the infrastructure to accommodate the P-8s is built and that's under way right now.This is the Government that takes seriously a commitment to our youth in developing them and getting the very best out of our young people that we can. This is the Government that has reopened two Limited Service Volunteers facilities: one in Whenuapai and one in Trentham. This is the Government that has doubled the intake of Limited Service Volunteers and is producing outstanding results as we help these people reorientate themselves and prepare themselves for the work environment. It is this Government that is engaging with employers and getting them engaged with the Limited Service Volunteers scheme. And I'm being well assisted—and I thank her very much—by the Hon Carmel Sepuloni through the Ministry of Social Development in that space right now.It is this Government that is committed to a first principles review of the Defence Force real estate footprint. And we are looking out to 2030; we are actually looking out to 2070 as to what this nation needs. I think the one thing that we can say right now is that we have made some historical decisions in the Defence Force and the Defence Force is the better for it. And I haven't even started on our veterans and I have 24 seconds to go. The only thing I will say is that we are not finished. We have till September and there is more coming down the line. This is a Government of action not talk."