Ball supporting the Defence industry

A good op ed by NZ First MP Darroch Ball:

Very shortly Palmerston North will be hosting the Defence Industry Association’s annual conference.

We have been hearing it called a “weapons conference” and some of the employers labelled “merchants of death”.

But, unfortunately, the truth is a little inconvenient for some and while we support the right to protest there is an obligation to tell the whole truth.

Yes the defence industry sells equipment, services and supplies to the New Zealand Defence Force. 

But it would be an incredible stretch to say this is a “weapons conference”. The vast majority of attendees have nothing at all to do with weapons.

The fact is, this conference brings together businesses that sell things like apples, toilet paper, spare parts, electronics, steel and clothing to the Defence Force. Many of these businesses have a presence in Palmerston North and employ thousands of people right across the country.

If you have a defence force, you need to supply it. Those who want the western world to disarm are as misguided as their 1980s counterparts who advocated unilateral disarmament. If we had listened to them, the Soviet Union would still rule Eastern Europe.

The Defence Force is small by global standards and it spends the majority of its time patrolling our fisheries, protecting our environment, working in Antarctica, helping our Pacific partners, peacekeeping, helping foreign nations get back on their feet, supporting disaster relief efforts, training our young people and performing search and rescue operations.

If we are sending our daughters and sons overseas to uphold peace, protect the innocent and help nations build their capacity to govern themselves, then we absolutely must give them the best equipment possible, so they can come home safely.

Absolutely.