New Zealand is surrounded by a vast body of sea, and must maintain the ability to protect the security of its citizens, police its Exclusive Economic Zone, and provide search and rescue capability locally and in the Pacific.
Our policy is one of armed neutrality with armed forces capable of carrying out those tasks.
Social Credit will achieve those aims by:
• Putting in place a Maritime Defence Force capable of air and sea patrol to protect New Zealand against violation of our nuclear free status and our Exclusive Economic Zone, and search and rescue
This will entail reinvestment in an air combat squadron, six ocean going patrol ships and fully operational air and coastal units manned by reservists
• Putting in place a National Defence Force to protect against external or
internal violation of New Zealand's sovereignty, and to ensure all New Zealanders are properly trained in civil defence and survival techniques
• Having as its secondary tasks, technical training, civil defence, community service and public works programmes
This will entail three specialised commando battalions (airborne, amphibious and mountain) and a headquarters administering both military and civil defence, together with national training and reserves
• Ensuring all healthy New Zealand citizens undergo appropriate defence related training, though not necessarily military training, which will include four months of community service.
• Withdrawing from agreements or membership of international organisations where membership of them reduces our independence of action and is against New Zealand’s interests
• Conducting natural disaster civil defence and survival training in secondary schools
• Building up resources to provide a wide availability of skills in dealing with any emergency or disaster
• Resourcing defence forces fully and from within New Zealand where possible.