\u201cThe pressures are different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wayne Mapp was New Zealand’s Defence Minister from 2008 to 2011. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
Mapp said New Zealand pays a premium for most things here and abroad because of its geographical isolation, but its distance from major geopolitical flashpoints also provides a significant security buffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand is also the most secure country in the entire planet … We\u2019re further away from any other country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would expect us to take at least some advantage of that fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the New Zealand Defence Force\u2019s relatively small size and unique operating demands, Mapp said it delivers outsized value in specialist areas, particularly peacekeeping and special operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo kind of a bit like the Olympics \u2013 we specialise, we focus and then we do really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, Mapp acknowledged that defence capability has not expanded in line with New Zealand\u2019s growth. <\/p>\n
New Zealand journalist and foreign affairs expert Anna Fifield asked US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth if he considered New Zealand a “free rider” on defence. <\/p>\n
He said the NZDF today remains broadly similar in scale and capability to what it was at the start of the century.<\/p>\n
\u201cNevertheless, we\u2019re living in a different world now, and we do need to step up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed across the Tasman to increases in defence investment as something New Zealand should pay close attention to.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia has stepped up a huge amount. They are the ones that we really need to be taking note of, because they\u2019re actually our only formal ally, and allies do owe duties to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to a question from New Zealand journalist and foreign affairs expert Anna Fifield<\/a> \u2013 who writes the Between Giants global affairs newsletter on Substack \u2013 about whether New Zealand\u2019s planned funding boost was sufficient, Hegseth said it wasn\u2019t enough, so \u201c2% is freeloading\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c[Allies] can\u2019t just say, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ve been friends for a long time, so let\u2019s work together.\u2019 It\u2019s, \u2018We\u2019ve been friends for a long time so you better have the same visibility as we do, because if we don\u2019t, our alliance is meaningless\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of realism President Trump has asked me to inject into all relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s Defence Minister Chris Penk was listening in the audience as Hegseth made the comments, just two days after New Zealand laid out a financial plan<\/a> aimed at boosting defence spending to just over 2% of GDP over eight years.<\/p>\nUS Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Photo \/ Getty Images <\/p>\n