As the general election nears, the campaign focus so far has been almost exclusively on domestic issues. And yet, over the past two months, no fewer than five government documents have been released outlining the significant defence and security challenges the country now faces.
If there is one theme that unites these reports, it is captured in the Defence Policy and Strategy Statement’s observation that “New Zealand is facing a more challenging strategic environment than it has in decades”.
That assessment matches other national security reports, defence reviews and Indo-Pacific strategies released in the past 12 months by Australia, Germany, Japan, Britain and South Korea.
