New Zealand First Defence Spokesperson, Ron Mark, has called for the Minister of Defence to dock the pay of all those officers who authorised and attended the glitzy Masters of Business Seminar in Auckland and not take money from the Defence training budget.

“Cutting $200,000 from the Defence’s personnel training budget will only punish the troops. It will do nothing at all to teach those officers responsible for squandering taxpayers funds a lesson.

“It now seems that if soldiers make mistakes, they get charged and fined. If officers offend, the state pays their dues from money intended to train soldiers.

“What seriously concerns me is a new culture emerging in our Armed Forces that sees money poured into enhancing the life and training of officers whilst junior ranks struggle on meagre wages and inadequate training.

“I am thoroughly disappointed in the ‘officers first’ culture that now appears to be endemic in New Zealand’s Defence Force,” said Ron Mark.

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