7. Question No. 7—DefenceDAN ROSEWARNE (Labour) to the Minister of DefenceQuestion No. 7—Defence7. DAN ROSEWARNE (Labour) to the Minister of Defence: What recent announcements has he made about strengthening New Zealand's defence?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Defence): A year ago we commissioned the Defence Policy Review to provide a road map for the future of defence as part of the national security of New Zealand and to do so in the context of the rapidly changing conditions we see around us. On 4 August I was privileged to release the first of two documents as part of that review. The Defence Policy and Strategy Statement—the first of the documents—sets out New Zealand's defence goals and how we seek to achieve them now and into the future. The Future Force Design Principles—the second of the documents—is a bridge between the new defence strategy and the options for the investment required to deliver it. Alongside these documents I also released the first National Security Strategy Secure Together—Tō Tātou Korowai Manaaki this Government's direction to the wider national security community on how to navigate the changed environment.Dan Rosewarne: What is the Defence Policy and Strategy Statement?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The strategy statement assesses the world as it is now from a defence perspective and identifies the principal challenges: climate change and strategic competition. Because we have a proudly independent foreign policy we will pursue our interests in our own Kiwi way. The strategy statement is underpinned by four principles that represent some of the core of what it means to be a New Zealander: mana and pono which is to be true or sincere and to act with integrity; kotahitanga or unity or solidarity; kaitiakitanga or guardianship for our whenua our taonga our region our allies partners and friends and for the climate and the natural environment; and then fourthly angitu striving or success meaning having a combat-capable and -ready force that protects New Zealand and our interests.Dan Rosewarne: What are the Future Force Design Principles?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The Future Force Design Principles are a guide for investment planning over the next 15 years. It lays out 11 guiding principles that need to be considered when deciding what defence capability is needed when making investment decisions and that are to be applied with varying degrees of priority. These principles include the extent of our combat capability our resilience in the face of changing circumstances our ability to expand or reduce our capacity the strength and nature of our partnerships and our embrace of leading technology.Dan Rosewarne: What are the next steps in the review following the release of these documents?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The Defence Policy and Strategy Statement will be used alongside the Future Force Design Principles to commence work on a new Defence Capability Plan—the last plan was completed in 2019. The new plan will align with the other strategic documents and will outline what resources people and capability are required to meet the challenges ahead.Dan Rosewarne: How were the strategy and design principles put together?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The development of the Defence Policy Review has included engagement across a broad array of stakeholder groups. This includes the public defence industry academia Government agencies and international partners including Fiji Tonga and Australia. I should add there were over 8500 public survey responses that were received and fed into the documents.