Statement of Intent 1 July 2008 - 30 June 2011
Nature and scope of functions
The Ministry of Defence contributes to the Government’s priority theme of National Identity, whereby all New Zealanders are to be able to take pride in who and what we are through our stance on international issues.
Our roles and functions are established by the Defence Act 1990 and exist to ensure that the Government has security, defence and capability policy options. The Defence Act 1990 created two organisations from the previous Ministry of Defence: the Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force.
Section 24 of the Defence Act 1990 establishes the position of Secretary of Defence who is also the chief executive of the Ministry of Defence. The Secretary’s responsibilities concerning the Ministry, the New Zealand Defence Force, and New Zealand’s defence and security are detailed in section 24.
These responsibilities are embodied in three output classes:
- policy advice
- management of equipment procurement
- audit and assessment of performance.
Within the framework set out in The Government’s Defence Policy Framework, issued in June 2000, the Ministry will provide advice on the strategic environment and the military capabilities the New Zealand Defence Force needs to operate in that environment, and on the tasks and missions the New Zealand Defence Force should undertake. The five key objectives for New Zealand’s defence policy that the Government established in June 2000 are:
- to defend New Zealand and to protect its people, land, territorial waters, exclusive economic zone, natural resources and critical infrastructure
- to meet New Zealand’s alliance commitments to Australia by maintaining a close defence partnership in pursuit of common security interests
- to assist in the maintenance of security in the South Pacific and to provide assistance to New Zealand’s Pacific neighbours
- to play an appropriate role in the maintenance of security in the Asia-Pacific region, including meeting New Zealand’s obligations as a member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements
- to contribute to global security and peacekeeping through participation in the full range of United Nations and other appropriate multilateral peace support and humanitarian relief operations.
The Ministry’s roles are linked by the Defence Act to those of the New Zealand Defence Force. These roles are either undertaken in consultation with, or in respect of, the New Zealand Defence Force. The links between the Ministry’s outcomes and those of the New Zealand Defence Force are set out in the section that explains the Ministry’s strategic direction.
The Secretary of Defence also has an obligation under section 3 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. This requires the Secretary to audit the controls on hazardous substances under the control of the Minister of Defence and report the results to the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Defence.
Figure 1 illustrates the structure and roles of the Ministry of Defence.
Figure 1: Structure and Roles of the Ministry of Defence
