Correspondence.

• Author: Steadman, Hugh
• Position: Letter to the editor

Sir,

In your last issue (vol 41, no 4), you published a letter from Peter Nichols written in response to an article in which I made the case for a U-turn in New Zealand's current defence strategy. While spitting out the odd fruit that he found not to his liking, Peter seems to have chosen to ignore the overview of the whole orchard.

My basic premise was that, in a time of fast increasing international instability, a nation such as New Zealand should seek to increase its self-sufficiency both in terms of its economy, its military strategy and the self-confidence and survivability of its population.

Given existing global governance structures, it is becoming increasingly obvious that rapid climate change is unlikely to be countered in time to prevent an epic calamity to the Earths rapidly increasing human population. NATO is actively promoting a return to the Cold War and destabilising the nuclear balance with upgraded nuclear weaponry and anti-missile screens apparently designed to jeopardise Russia's and Chinas ability to offer a riposte to an American first strike. No significant structural changes have been made to the global monetary system following the last global financial crisis. It is improbable that there will not be an even more damaging repeat and consequent disruptions to the trade on which current New Zealand policy makes the welfare of its population dependent.

In light of the multiple and increasing threats to global stability I advocated a two-pronged strategy for the defence of New Zealand. Firstly, New Zealand should optimise its ability to look after its own defence, rather than making its defence ever more dependent on goodwill obtained by ingratiating itself with distant allies, who will inevitably prioritise their national interest above ours. Secondly, I advocated New Zealand increasing the vigour with which it advocates the international rule of law through the United Nations.

The recent publication of the Chilcot report clearly...