Prime Minister Helen Clark said the weak New Zealand dollar would give the government less bang for its buck on defense.
Miss Clark would not be drawn on what the government would be spending it’s defense dollar on, which was discussed in
Cabinet today, except to say that the decisions that have been made are very substantial.
She said that Australia and the United States - ‘close allies’ and ‘friends,’ respectively - are not likely to comment
on how much the Government spends or what it purchases on defense.
Minister Mark Burton will announce the decisions on defense spending in parliament on Wednesday.