INDEPENDENT NEWS

Put Airforce Redundancies On Hold

Published: Wed 16 May 2001 12:27 AM
New Zealand First spokesman for Defence, Ron Mark MP, is calling on the Labour Alliance government to put its plan to make Airforce personnel redundant, on hold by posting them as loan service personnel to the Australian, British, or US Airforces.
“It is a widely held view that when Labour was elected to govern, they were not given a mandate to disband our nation’s air combat capability. Since they announced their decision, a number of parties have indicated that if they are elected to govern at the 2002 election, they will reinstate that capability.
“Given the latest reports which indicate that personnel will be made redundant between January and July 2002, and that a general election is due in November 2002, I believe that it is improper for Labour and the Alliance to proceed any further,” said Mr Mark.
“Accordingly, I believe that instead of making these personnel redundant, we should simply post them as loan service staff to the Australian, British or US Defence Forces so we retain their skills.
“Then if Labour or the Alliance win the next election, those of us who do not share their views will have to live with it. If they do not, New Zealand will be in a far better position to resurrect our air combat capability,” said Mr Mark.
Ends.

Next in New Zealand politics

Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
By: New Zealand Government
Parliamentary Network Breached By The PRC
By: New Zealand Government
GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan
By: New Zealand Government
Tax Cuts Now Even More Irresponsible
By: New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media