Chapter 4. ‘No, Minister….’—The ANZAC Frigates, Part II

In 1989 the decision on whether to buy the third and fourth ANZAC frigates seemed a long way off; indeed as previously indicated, Geoffrey Palmer had said the decision would not need to be taken for almost a decade. Before the next decision was due to be made, major changes to New Zealand’s electoral system were to take place, with the introduction of Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation in 1996, and the need for the formation of a coalition government. It was the need for retaining coalition support that was to have a decisive influence on the National-led Government’s decision not to proceed with the option to purchase the third and fourth ANZAC frigates.

As early as 1992, the Minister of Defence, Warren Cooper, suggested that New Zealand might not take up the option to buy the third and fourth ANZAC frigates. He was to reinforce his opinion, if not that of his leader, in an interview with the Australian Defence Magazine in 1994: ‘We’ve got two Leander-class frigates that will remain good for a few years. My guess is that we wouldn’t be able to sign up confidently for another two ANZAC frigates, but that door is left open.’^[1] In January 1995, whilst New Zealand’s first ANZAC frigate was taking shape on both sides of the Tasman, Cooper fired a further broadside in the discussions on whether to purchase the third and fourth ANZAC frigates: ‘Two frigates enough for NZ: Cooper’, read the headline in the New Zealand Herald. The article went on to say that the Minister did not believe that New Zealand needed to buy more ANZAC frigates: ‘I am not fully committed to the third and fourth frigates. … Quite frankly there are other priorities the Government will want to address.’^[2] The decision on whether to buy more ANZAC frigates was due to be taken by the end of 1996. That timing was to coincide with the first MMP election, and the Minister indicated that defence spending would need to compete against other demands in the areas of education, health and welfare.

During the early 1990s, although there was little public debate about the frigates, public opinion nonetheless remained important. During 1995, the Foundation for Peace Studies published a report of a survey which had sought to establish up-to-date public opinion on a range of matters related to peace and defence issues. Two questions in the survey had particular relevance for the upcoming debate on the purchase of further frigates—one about the level of defence spending; the other about how many, if any, ANZAC frigates should be purchased.

With regards to attitudes on defence spending, there was a clear message that there was no mandate for increased spending, with results as follows: ^[3]

Does defence spending need to be:

Should the New Zealand Government:

As can be seen, a large percentage of respondents wished to maintain the status quo, holding defence spending at current levels and pursuing the purchase of two frigates. However, a significant minority, 31 per cent, wished for a decrease in defence spending, and 28 per cent wished for cancellation of the frigate purchase, whilst only 8 per cent supported the purchase of a third frigate. It was against such a backdrop that the first MMP election was to be fought.