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Features Australia New Zealand

Off the radar

The gap between Australia’s and New Zealand’s defence capabilities is an embarrassment

14 May 2016

9:00 AM

14 May 2016

9:00 AM

In the same week that Australia announced it was spending $50 billion on a fleet of new submarines, the New Zealand army admitted it couldn’t muster enough soldiers to fire the traditional rifle salute at an Anzac Day service in the country’s third-largest city, Christchurch. Two weeks before that, it was revealed that two modern patrol ships from the New Zealand navy’s modest fleet hadn’t been to sea for years because of crew shortages.

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