- Hon Judith Collins KC
The Chief of Defence Force (CDF) will be better able to manage their workforce to ensure national security is maintained during industrial action under new legislation introduced today, Defence Minister Judith Collins says.
"The Defence (Workforce) Amendment Bill means the Minister of Defence will be able to authorise CDF to redeploy uniformed personnel to carry out the roles of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) civilian staff. Any authorisation would be informed by operational and legal advice from the NZDF," Ms Collins says.
Currently, the Defence Act allows the Minister to authorise the redeployment of uniformed personnel in situations where health and safety is compromised if work is not carried out by the Armed Forces.
The new bill broadens this authorisation to include instances where national security and readiness to deliver core defence functions are at risk. This could include work such as providing security at military bases, weapons and munitions servicing, and aircraft maintenance.
The issue was highlighted when civilian staff took industrial action last December. During this time, the Minister of Defence had to seek a resolution from Parliament to ensure uniformed personnel could continue to conduct the work of striking civilian staff for a period longer than 14 days. This meant decisions were vulnerable to the availability of Parliament and risked sensitive information being publicly disclosed.
"The ability and right of NZDF civilian staff and public service employees to take industrial action remains. But these changes ensure the security of New Zealand, and the safety of New Zealanders, endures while civilian staff exercise their rights," Ms Collins says.
"At a time of increasing security challenges, these commonsense changes need to be made.
"The authorisation of military personnel to cover civilian tasks when industrial action occurs within the NZDF is not taken lightly. But when required, it should be practical in its application. This Bill delivers on that."
The public and interested groups will have a chance to submit on the Bill when it is referred to select committee in September 2025.
