Reviewing the troops: New Zealand Country Briefing

New Zealand has always attempted to perform on the world stage at a level that belies the size of its defence force.

The past decade has reinforced this trend, with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) involved in an unprecedented number of international peacekeeping missions. Current deployments include Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.

For a defence force of 14,648 personnel, including 9,732 regular force members and 2,242 territorial (reserve) troops, such deployments bring significant operational pressures, especially given the challenges provided by New Zealand's geographical location.

Some 2,000 km from Australia, its nearest neighbour, New Zealand is further away from Timor-Leste than the UK is from Afghanistan, while the distance between Auckland and Kabul is 13,424 km. New Zealand also has a land area and exclusive economic zone roughly comparable to those of Japan or the UK, but with a fraction of either country's population.

In addition, as highlighted in the NZDF's November 2008 defence portfolio briefing to the incoming government, New Zealand is different from other developed countries with a comparable economic base owing to the size of its immediate operating region, the range of environments in which the NZDF is required to perform - from the Equator to the South Pole as a minimum - and the array of tasks the military has to undertake.

"This gives New Zealand defence an unusually high level of complexity for its size. These features put a premium on strategy and planning, and suggest that regular reviews of defence are essential," says the defence portfolio briefing, which was released under the Official Information Act.

Meanwhile, the pending completion of a major capability renewal programme will see the replacement or upgrade of most key platforms across the three services in a significant advance on the NZDF's largely 1960s-era legacy equipment.