Source: Radio New Zealand
New Defence Minister Chris Penk. RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
The new Defence Minister says he has not seen anything in the Iran war that would lead him to reconsider New Zealand’s defence relationship with the United States.
Chris Penk also said the country was not going too slowly on acquiring military drones even though other countries were accelerating by up to 400 percent.
Penk has just taken over the defence, space and spy agency portfolios from Judith Collins.
“It’s exciting and intimidating,” he told RNZ in an interview this week.
He was not setting a different course from his predecessor. “I think we’re on the right path.”
Pope or president?
Penk was less well known than ‘Crusher’ Collins – was he a hawk or dove? He responded only that he would represent government policy “faithfully”.
Penk has just taken over the defence, space and spy agency portfolios from Judith Collins. Nick Monro
The Iran war had not made him reconsider the US-NZ defence relationship.
“No, I think we need to understand clearly where our ideals and interests lie. So in that sense, nothing’s changed.
“It’s not to say that we would commit to a particular operation because of US involvement or despite it. We will make decisions on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our long-standing independent foreign policy.”
Did US President Donald Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran’s civilisation discomfort him?
“It’s not language or a policy aim that’s held by the New Zealand government,” said Penk. “So, clearly it’s not something that I am personally, you know, comfortable with in that sense.”
Had the way US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth characterised the war or how the US saw its role in the world prompted any rethink?
“I think we should consider that any interaction or involvement that New Zealand has militarily anywhere in the globe should be on a case-by-case basis according to whether it aligns with our interests and ideals as determined from time to time by our independent foreign policy.”
The Pope’s comments on war had drawn Trump’s ire in recent days. Where did Penk’s sympathies lie?
“I don’t think I should express a view between those two gentlemen, but I think more importantly from New Zealand’s point of view, we’ve got a government position that is that clearly we’re affected by the war in the Middle East and it would be better if it were to cease.”
Hegseth has invoked Christian language to justify the war against Iran.
Penk said his meetings could include one with Hegseth though Australia was the most important relationship, and he would be meeting its Defence Minister Richard Marles shortly in person. Penk was set to meet Marles in Sydney on Thursday, saying “we can do more to operationalise our alliance”.
Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump. AFP
More drones for some
Marles said last week the Iran and Ukraine wars had in the last two years shown up the need to focus more on drones. Under Canberra’s new national defence strategy, $2.5 billion of new or redirected spending was also going into drones.
Also, the Albanese government on Tuesday said it would more than double investment in counter-drones to up to $9 billion over a decade.
France had just put out a new plan to quadruple its stocks of kamikaze drones by 2030, incentivised by the two wars showing up how fast munitions got drained.
The Pentagon meantime had announced plans to triple US spending on drones and related technology to more than NZ$125 billion.
Was New Zealand moving too slowly?
“I wouldn’t say we’re going too slowly, but we need to keep moving quickly so that we don’t fall behind,” said Penk.
The year-old defence capability plan (DCP) envisaged spending up to about half a billion dollars on air and sea drones by 2029.
What about doubling the drone spend like Australia?
“I think the DCP has the right level of ambition, including that it’s a huge step up from historic New Zealand government investment in defence and security matters.”
Penk added the figures in the plan were a “floor” not a ceiling, the plan would be reviewed every two years and the drone spend could be sped up.
“The relative priority of different technology types, for example, drones as compared with the other needs that we have, is going to be part of the Cabinet’s decision-making in terms of procurement that we make over the next months and years.”
Penk said drone spend could be sped up. Nick Monro
AI and where to get it
Another Cabinet choice would be around military AI.
The Pentagon’s deployment of that in Iran had sped up strikes on targets like never before. When its Department of Defence fell out with AI whiz company Anthropic, it turned instead to the rival Open AI to take over the targeting tech’s development alongside data-king Palantir whose platforms “specialise in integrating vast, siloed sources of data with all elements of decision-making”.
The NZDF is under orders to increase its lethal strike capability. But the country has no local equivalent of Palantir, Anthropic or Open AI.
So how would Penk ensure defence got the AI it might think it needed?
“The important thing with AI is clearly it’s developing very quickly. So we need to be agile,” he said.
“And that means not closing off any options if there are allies, partners, and others whom we work with closely and we trust who are developing this technology.
“If we’re in the space that we’re able to share that in a way that reflects our values and doesn’t breach any international or our own domestic law, then of course we should be open to that.”
He was more interested in understanding how systems and procurement could let defence move quickly rather than any specific AI platforms.
Integration
Speed had been one emphasis; integration had been another especially in US-led military alliances, frameworks and exercises.
Pentagon statements and strategies put great emphasis on integration with companies and with allies; its Space Force had dubbed 2026 the year of integration.
Had Penk sought to understand what the US meant by “integration”?
“I haven’t had that discussion directly, and I don’t know if officials have, in the light of the most recent proclamations by them, but I think in general terms, integration is a good thing to the extent that we can understand and work with those we’ve got good relationships.”
It did not mean being subservient.
“It means that we integrate in a number of different ways as a starting point to understand your intentions, as a helpful way for us to know if there are ways that we can usefully contribute to aims that we share, and where we don’t share aims, then clearly we won’t.”
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
