Maintaining and Expanding the Royal New Zealand Navy Part 2

Invest in forces housing and ‘value added’ benefits for service personnel

As public sector pay restraint appears to be here for good, the RN needs to find other ways to offer the best possible quality of life for its service personnel to aid recruitment and retention. Ensuring that new service housing is built or existing stock brought up to a consistently high standard should be a priority. At the same time this investment would provide work for a construction sector that may face challenges as the economy adjusts to Brexit. The MoD should be able to get the best possible prices for work which would need to be carried out at some point in the futures in any case.

Save The Royal Navy Campaign Article 

Welcome to Part 2 of my look at what issues would be faced in the event the Royal New Zealand Navy was expanded. In Part 1 I covered the potential pitfalls when acquiring new vessels. I have covered why the RNZN is to small in previous articles. For the reader who isn't familiar my reasoning can be found concerning the importance of Sea Power to New Zealand security. And why Warship numbers and capabilities are also vital to the RNZN.

In Part 2 I will turn to the issues of Recruitment and Retention of RNZAF personnel. Compared with part 1 the reader will find a more general approach to the topics at hand. I won't make the claim of covering every aspect of maintaining and in the event it happens expanding the RNZN. As per usual I welcome any feedback from the reader.


To what ratio current personal and new recruits would crew new vessels is depended on a number of factors. The type of vessel entering service and the proportion of current members of the RNZN required would be some of the factors involved. A more precise analysis won't be possible until the day comes when Kiwis wake up to how much they really needed the RNZN before a emergency broke out. The same goes for financial costings involved with what this very article covers.

I now come to the matter of Recruitment and Retention. Fundamentally I believe the Recruitment of new and retention of current personnel has been overlooked by the current RNZN and New Zealand Governments. I can not stress enough the importance of this matter to the RNZN whether or not expansion ever takes place or not.

Let me make a slight side diversion. When I read the article from The Lens of History's friends at the Save The Royal Navy Campaign, the way the issues crossed over with the RNZN stood out to me. I whole heartily endorse the view of John Dunbar raises. For the sake of remaining topical I will focus on Defence Force housing.

For the sake of the international reader I would like to point out house prices in Auckland hover around the 7 hundred thousand to the 1 million dollar mark.  Members of the RNZN based at the Devonport Naval Base are at the coal face of unaffordable housing in New Zealand. I find it hard to believe Auckland housing prices aren't having a negative effect on the RNZN ability to retain personnel.

I believe there is a mandate for for a renewed focus on Defence Force housing. The New Zealand Government and the NZDF drifting away from providing housing is very short sighted. Exposing members of the defence force to the forces of “market” rents and housing prices may well take the cake for short sighted-ness!


Recruitment is a area I feel is lacking in attention in debate and discussion. The RNZN like the RNZAF and the Army compete with the private sector for the best and brightest people. I believe a 2 fold approach should be taken to NZDF recruitment and promoting awareness/benefits of a military career.

The first measure would be to expand the Limited Service Volunteer Program. The expanded program would be in placed in Universities , Polytechs and other training providers. Students placed in the program would be introduced to military life and undergo a fitness program. At the end of the program students would be given the option of enlisting as a Army or Navy reservist or the regular full time military.

1 or more charter schools modelled on the Australian Army Apprentice Scheme would form the 2nd measure. The schools would be open to individuals who are unemployed as well as secondary students. Under the charter school model school leavers would have the assurance of a secure military military in the years ahead of them.