Why New Zealand can no longer treat defence as discretionary – John Howard

Opinion byJohn HowardNZ Herald·16 Sep, 2026 09:07 PM5 mins to readMajor General (Retired) John Howard, MNZM is a retired military leader who works with boards and senior executives as a private advisor on strategy, risk and organisational performance. He is a senior fellow at the New Zealand Initiative.New Zealand's $12b defence uplift must outlast political cycles. Photo / Getty ImagesGreece. Crete. North Africa. The Pacific. Battle honours carried by New Zealand units and etched into memorials across New Zealand mark campaigns fought between 1940 and 1943. They were paid for in blood and treasure by a generation that had, in the relative calm of the 1920s and 1930s, allowed