“I have today sought further information from Army leadership. I am advised that the implementation of this Framework has been paused to enable broader consultation. The Army leadership agrees that this policy needs further consideration.”
A copy of the Army Cultural Skills Framework shared with Newstalk ZB. Photo/ Supplied
Stephenson said he was pleased the framework had been paused.
“A number of people came to Act and said ‘This has been rolled out and can you look into it?’,” he said.
“I think this Government’s been pretty clear that we actually want the Public Service, including the Defence Force, to focus on their core roles and responsibilities.
“In this case, that would be making sure the army is a world-class and combat-ready force, that’s modern, agile and highly adaptive,” he said.
Act MP Todd Stephenson wrote to Defence Minister Judith Collins with concerns. Photo / Supplied
When asked whether the pause was initiated by her, Collins said: “No, I understand that the Army decided to pause after I contacted them and said I had not heard about this new framework from them.”
In a statement, an NZDF spokesperson said: “The Army’s cultural skills framework was paused on Wednesday by the Chief of Army to enable broader consultation, after the Minister of Defence became aware of it. The Army agrees the framework needs further consideration.”
Defence Minister Judith Collins wasn’t happy with some of the language in the cultural skills framework. Photo / Mark Mitchell
When asked what she thought about the framework Stephenson had sent her, Collins said it was unclear, and she certainly wasn’t happy with some of the language used.
“It was certainly written in a must-do rather than an optional or it would be good to. And I think they’ve got to go back to think about it a bit more. But their main job is to be a fighting fit army. I want them focused on being a fighting fit army,” she said.
Troy Matich is a political reporter with Newstalk ZB, working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2025, previously working for RNZ as a producer for Morning Report.