MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Use Wednesday 18 2001
MARK WELCOMES TROOPS’ PAY RISE: BUT WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG?
New Zealand First has welcomed the announcement of a pay rise for Defence Force personnel but doubts that it will
significantly deal with recruitment and retention problems.
“If it only took this much ($18m in the next financial year) to fix, why did it take so long?” spokesman Ron Mark has
asked.
“While I am pleased for our service personnel that the government has at last taken action one has to wonder if it is
too little too late. An average 5% pay rise won’t solve the personnel problem, 5% of very little is still nothing much,
Mr Mark said
“The big defence questions remain unanswered. As long as our country’s defence strategy remains unclear and while our
forces are poorly equipped and supported we cannot expect significant improvements in morale, or in recruitment or
retention” Mr Mark said.
ENDS