New Zealand seeks to shed its ‘pretty slack’ defence image. Will it placate Trump?

Analysts suggest Wellington’s new US$5.2 billion defence plan is a hedge against pressure from Donald Trump’s White House

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New Zealand’s Defence Minister Judith Collins says she sympathises with US demands for its allies to share more of the defence burden. Photo: AP

Published: 10:30am, 24 Aug 2025

For decades, both New Zealand and Australia have been “pretty slack” on military spending, Wellington’s defence minister recently conceded in a striking admission that analysts say was aimed as much at Washington as at a sceptical public at home.

Judith Collins told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on August 14 that she sympathised with the United States’ demands for its allies to share more of the defence burden, adding in an interview in Wellington that American taxpayers had carried the weight for too long.

Washington had not pressed New Zealand directly, she said, but the broader push for Western allies to spend more on defence was clear.

Collins’ comments come as New Zealand is embarking on its most ambitious military investment in years. In April, the government unveiled a Defence Capability Plan that will lift spending to NZ$9 billion (US$5.2 billion) in the next financial year, with a goal of reaching roughly 2 per cent of gross domestic product within four years.

That would mean an additional NZ$12 billion on defence, more than doubling the current outlay of under 1 per cent of GDP.

Australian soldiers disembark a troop transport plane in the Philippines as part of a joint military exercise earlier this month. Photo: Australia’s Defence Department

Australia, which currently spends 2 per cent of GDP on defence, has been urged by Washington to raise its contribution to 3.5 per cent over the next decade.

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