Three out of nine New Zealand Navy ships remain decommissioned, officials say, as higher civilian wages force personnel to leave the military, even as tensions rise in the Pacific between China and its US ally.

The patrol boat HMNZS Wellington returned to New Zealand ahead of a scheduled three-month patrol in the Pacific and was decommissioned in November due to shortages, the country’s defense ministry said.

The Wellington is the third ship to be placed under “care and protection” while the other two ships – an offshore patrol vessel and a smaller coastal patrol vessel – have been withdrawn and their crews redeployed. Vessels have crews from 24 to 42 people.

The bottom line is that “staffing issues are impacting ship availability,” according to Air Force Commander-in-Chief Kevin Short’s memo to the Secretary of Defense, which warns of a reduction in Navy capability “if problems are not addressed in a timely manner.” “

The New Zealand Ministry of Defense employs approximately 15,000 people, including civilian personnel, of whom approximately 2,800 serve in the Navy. Last May, the ministry said it would spend about NZ$90 million ($57 million) over four years to raise the wages of low-wage workers. Officials hope that personnel indicators will improve significantly by 2026-2027.

Difficult to answer

With such a small number of Navy ships, it is becoming increasingly difficult to multi-task at the same time, according to a Defense Department spokesman. The problem is particularly acute as the US, Japan, Australia and other countries in the region “oppose” China and compete for influence in the region.

New Zealand, which spends about 1.5% of its GDP on defense, announced this year that it will review its defense policy in light of regional geopolitics and climate change. The review is expected to be completed after 2024.

In July, after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Pacific could handle security issues on its own.

The number of people leaving the defense forces is at its highest level – the attrition rate of the navy was about 16.5% per year until November – in recent decades, as personnel prefer work in the private sector, where wages have risen due to limited available labor force.

Additional problems

The “headache” of the New Zealand Ministry of Defense is also the aging of equipment and the large number of personnel stationed at border stations due to mobility restrictions due to COVID-19.

Defense Minister Penny Henare acknowledged that the loss of personnel is detrimental to the country’s defense, but said the government is committed to making a difference. However, he says, “there is still a long way to go.”

The country is replacing its fleet with C-130s and P-3 maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs), with the first of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon MPAs due to arrive this month. Plans for a new vessel built specifically for the conditions of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica have been postponed for this year.

Source: Reuters.