New Zealand to re-evaluate Defence Capability Plan

12th July 2021 - 12:00 GMT | by Tim Fish in Auckland

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NZ defence secretary Peeni Henare speaks to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee. (Photo: NZ Parliament)

New Zealand's defence secretary has announced a post-COVID redraft of the government's much-lauded Defence Capability Plan, with potential for a radical departure from existing roles and requirements.

The New Zealand government has embarked on a reassessment of its Defence Capability Plan (DCP) to adapt to the post-COVID environment.

Since the Labour Party secured a majority at the general election in September 2020, the government has been working on a new approach to foreign and defence policy.

The new Labour defence minister, Peeni Henare, told Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee in early July that there will be a ‘redraft’ of the DCP that was published in 2019 under the previous Labour-led coalition government.

Henare said that a review was necessary because the decisions made in the …