1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,600
Speaker 1: So the news that New Zealand is going to spend

2
00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: twelve billion dollars on defenses not news to welcome, and

3
00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,600
Speaker 1: yet it is also welcome news, and this is because

4
00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:14,120
Speaker 1: it highlights the state of the planet. It's an unsettled world,

5
00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,639
Speaker 1: and in an unsettled world, defense is essential and the

6
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:23,360
Speaker 1: equation for a credible defense is spending two percent of GDP. Now,

7
00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,079
Speaker 1: within eight years we'll get to that target. It's a

8
00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:28,800
Speaker 1: doubling of the budget. And the question is why are

9
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,960
Speaker 1: we only just doing this now. We've been spending close

10
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,800
Speaker 1: to that for the past thirty years. We wouldn't be

11
00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,279
Speaker 1: facing so dramatic a spend today, but we didn't. We

12
00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,040
Speaker 1: were fat and complacent in a mistaken belief that we

13
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,519
Speaker 1: were safe and sound and if something went wrong, our

14
00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,280
Speaker 1: friends would come and save us. Now we have China

15
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,839
Speaker 1: knocking on our door and sailing in our seas. For

16
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:50,680
Speaker 1: as long as I've been in the news business, which

17
00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:52,920
Speaker 1: is over thirty years now, Australia and the States have

18
00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,840
Speaker 1: warned that our coat tailing did not cut it, and

19
00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,680
Speaker 1: we had to do our bit, maybe not have fighter jets,

20
00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,640
Speaker 1: but at least something. So fair play to Judith Collins,

21
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,360
Speaker 1: she's finally accepting the responsibility that we've always needed to take.

22
00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,920
Speaker 1: But this comes at a difficult time. Firstly, of course,

23
00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,440
Speaker 1: the world has become more dangerous, so time is of

24
00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:16,160
Speaker 1: the essence. And secondly, we're broke, and it comes at

25
00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,199
Speaker 1: a time when barely reported mass redundancies are actually happening

26
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,319
Speaker 1: in defense to meet government spending targets. So with this

27
00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:27,720
Speaker 1: move they have announced. With this move, basically they are

28
00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:29,800
Speaker 1: firing at the moment on one hand, and yet they're

29
00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,679
Speaker 1: going to employ with another. Now on it, you can

30
00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,840
Speaker 1: argue that both the firing and the spending are both necessary,

31
00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:39,360
Speaker 1: and they're necessary because we've sat in our hands for

32
00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,640
Speaker 1: so long, and they're necessary because we have spent irresponsibly.

33
00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,680
Speaker 1: For more from Early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live

34
00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,840
Speaker 1: to News Talks at B from five am weekdays, or

35
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:52,800
Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.