New Zealand’s resources belong to all the people

Kia ora koutou,

Here’s what’s happening in plain English: Defence Minister Judith Collins just announced that your government will spend $15.6 billion by 2032 on weapons and military contractors - that’s four times more than we spend now. This money isn’t going to keep you safe. It’s going straight into the pockets of weapons companies while your local hospital can’t afford enough nurses and your kids’ school needs fixing.

New Zealand’s defence spending trajectory showing the dramatic increase from $4 billion in 2020 to a projected $15.6 billion by 2032, representing a quadrupling of military expenditure under the National-led coalition

To put this in perspective: that’s $3,120 for every single New Zealander - man, woman, and child. For a family of four, that’s nearly $12,500 of your tax money being handed to weapons manufacturers over the next eight years. Meanwhile, you’re struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and heat your home.

New Zealand weapons export values showing dramatic growth from $15 million in 2018 to a projected $180 million by 2026, with key companies like SYOS Aerospace and Rakon driving the expansion

The Scam Explained Simply

Think of it like this: imagine your local council said they needed to quadruple your rates to pay for “community safety,” but instead of hiring more police or fixing streetlights, they gave all the money to security companies owned by the councillors’ mates. That’s exactly what Collins is doing, but with billions of your tax dollars.

Collins wants New Zealand companies to make “lethal weapons” for export, turning us from a peaceful country into arms dealers competing with war profiteers worldwide. She’s literally saying New Zealand should make money by helping other countries kill people.

The so-called “Defence Industry Strategy” is really a welfare program for weapons companies. Collins has set aside $100-300 million in a “Technology Accelerator” - fancy words for a slush fund that will shovel taxpayer money to defence contractors with no guarantee of any benefit to ordinary Kiwis.

New Zealand’s defense minister speaking to media about defense strategy and spending

The Corporate Mates Getting Rich

Here’s who’s cashing in on this scam:

SYOS Aerospace from Tauranga - Already secured a $67 million deal to supply drones to Ukraine, with Collins personally meeting their executives and praising their work.

Rakon - Makes components for US smart bombs and GPS-guided weapons, getting government funding while their technology kills people around the world.

International giants like Lockheed Martin, Airbus, and others are circling like vultures, knowing Collins will hand them massive contracts funded by your taxes.

Military contractor connections showing contract values and international reach, revealing the growing web of defence industry influence in New Zealand’s military expansion

The connections run deep. Collins has held multiple meetings with weapons companies, and the Defence Force has been accepting gifts and hospitality from commercial suppliers - clear conflicts of interest that would get private sector employees fired.

Hon Judith Collins, New Zealand Minister of Defence, speaking at an official event with New Zealand and UK flags in the background

Where Your Money Should Actually Go

While Collins hands billions to weapons makers, here’s what ordinary New Zealanders actually need:

• Housing: We have a massive housing crisis, but instead of building homes, we’re building bombs
• Healthcare: Our hospitals are understaffed and underfunded, but we’re prioritizing military contractors over nurses
• Education: Schools are falling apart, but we’re giving money to drone manufacturers instead of teachers
• Infrastructure: Our roads and public transport are crumbling, but we’re investing in weapons systems instead

Academic research proves that military spending creates fewer jobs and less economic benefit than investment in healthcare, education, or infrastructure. This isn’t about security - it’s about making the rich richer while everyone else pays.

The Christian Nationalist Angle

Collins isn’t just greedy - she’s ideologically driven by a Christian nationalist worldview that sees military might as divinely ordained. She makes her religious beliefs central to her political positioning and declared that “lethal weapons were necessary for deterrence” because “nobody’s going to be deterred by a puppet”.

This militant Christianity provides moral cover for what is fundamentally about profit. Collins endorsed Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense project, which benefits New Zealand companies like Rocket Lab - showing how her religious nationalism serves corporate interests.

The same Christian nationalist networks operating in Australia and the United States are active in New Zealand, promoting the idea that nations must be “battle ready” as part of God’s will - conveniently justifying massive spending on weapons systems.

The Blood Money Trail

The moral corruption gets worse when you follow where these weapons end up. New Zealand military technology is being used in Gaza, with companies like Smart-shooter advertising how their weapons systems provided “meaningful operational validation” in Gaza.

Meanwhile, your KiwiSaver funds have invested $189 million in companies supporting operations in Gaza. So not only are your taxes funding weapons development, your retirement savings are being used to profit from war crimes.

The government enthusiastically develops weapons technology while refusing meaningful action on Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The message is clear: profit matters more than human rights, corporate interests trump moral responsibility.

The Māori Perspective: Another Colonial Rip-Off

From a te ao Māori perspective, this militarization represents classic colonial extraction - taking resources from the many to benefit the few. The principles of manaakitanga (hospitality and care), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), and whakatōhea (collective responsibility) are completely violated by turning Aotearoa into a weapons factory.

This follows the exact same pattern as historical colonization - powerful elites claim they’re acting for everyone’s benefit while they extract wealth and resources for their own gain. The land and people suffer while a small group gets rich.

When Collins talks about being “battle ready,” Māori have to ask: ready to battle whom? The same surveillance and weapons technologies being developed for export can easily be turned on activist communities fighting for tino rangatiratanga.

What You Can Do About It

This isn’t inevitable. Here’s how we fight back:

Demand Transparency: Every meeting between government officials and weapons companies must be public. Every gift and payment must be disclosed.

Follow the Money: Track exactly which companies get contracts and how much they donate to political parties. The current political donation system allows massive corporate influence.

Challenge the Narrative: When politicians talk about “defence spending,” ask them to explain exactly how making weapons for export keeps New Zealand safe. Demand they justify spending billions on corporate welfare while public services are cut.

Build Alternatives: Support political parties and movements that prioritize people over profits, that would redirect military spending toward housing, healthcare, and education.

The Bottom Line

The Māori Green Lantern Fighting Misinformation And Disinformation From The Far Right

Judith Collins and her corporate cronies are running the biggest con job in New Zealand’s history. They’re taking your money, giving it to weapons companies, and telling you it’s for your own good. Meanwhile, you can’t afford housing, healthcare, or education for your kids.

This isn’t about keeping New Zealand safe - it’s about keeping weapons companies profitable. While New Zealand’s defence spending is set to increase dramatically, countries with much stronger social services manage effective defense on similar budgets without becoming arms dealers.

The choice is stark: we can allow war profiteers to complete their capture of our government, or we can organize, resist, and reclaim our democracy from corporate control.

Your tax dollars belong to you, not to weapons manufacturers. Your future belongs to you, not to war profiteers. It’s time to demand both back.

Ko te tahua rauemi o te aotearoa he taonga mo nga tangata katoa.

Kia kaha,
Te Māori Green Lantern

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