New Zealand defense minister to help shepherd military-integration push with Australia

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Chris Penk this week became New Zealand’s 44th minister of defense, replacing Judith Collins who is retiring from politics.

Penk will also take over Collins’ Space, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) portfolios.

Penk is the first defense minister to have previously served with both New Zealand and Australian forces. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2000, serving as an officer of the watch on the Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha.

He joined the National Party and was elected to Parliament in September 2017.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is currently experiencing a significant increase in integration with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), aiming for an increasingly integrated, interchangeable force by 2035.

This initiative, formalized earlier this year, involves embedding personnel in each other’s units, shared capability development, and synchronized training to operate as a “joint force” in response to a deteriorating security environment.

For example, Royal NZ Air Force units have been operating under ADF call signs, while embedded within Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) units.The two nations aim to operate seamlessly together by 2035, serving as force multipliers for one another while maintaining sovereign independence. Australian and New Zealand officers are serving in senior positions in each other’s command structures.

The NZDF’s operational expansion is not limited to neighboring Australia. An Air Commodore has this year been appointed to New Delhi to serve as New Zealand’s Defence Advisor to India. Previous officers in that role have been resident elsewhere.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele (L) and then-Minister for Veterans Chris Penk look on during a Wreath Laying Ceremony at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park on July 31, 2025, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding for Defence Cooperation was signed just over a year ago.

Closer to home is the state of New Zealand’s relationships with South Pacific states, including the Cook Islands and the Solomons, which rely upon Wellington for their security and foreign affairs. China has been encouraging Pacific islands to accept contentious ties with Beijing.

In December 2025, Chief of Defence Air Marshal Tony Davies told Parliament that the country needs to be able to increase its armed forces “significantly and quickly.”

Davies said the NZDF, which has over 15,000 personnel, had cut the average time it took to recruit personnel from 300 days to under 200 and are aiming for just 90 days.

Defence spending, recently around 1% of GDP, is budgeted to reach 2% over the next seven years. In April 2025 the coalition government’s prime minister, Chris Luxon, said current defense spending is too low. However, he has since declared an election in November and politicians will be wary of upsetting voters.

Nick Lee-Frampton is the New Zealand correspondent for Defense News.

新西兰惠灵顿——本周，克里斯·彭克成为新西兰第44任国防部长，接替即将退出政坛的朱迪思·柯林斯。

彭克还将接管柯林斯的太空、政府通信安全局 (GCSB) 和新西兰安全情报局 (NZSIS) 的职责。

彭克是第一位曾在新西兰和澳大利亚军队服役过的国防部长。他于2000年加入新西兰皇家海军，在澳新军团级护卫舰“特卡哈”号上担任值班军官。

他加入了国民党，并于 2017 年 9 月当选为国会议员。

新西兰国防军 (NZDF) 目前正与澳大利亚国防军 (ADF) 进行显著加强的融合，目标是到 2035 年建立一支日益融合、可互换的部队。

这项于今年早些时候正式启动的计划，包括将人员派往彼此的部队，共享能力发展，以及同步训练，以便在安全环境恶化的情况下作为一支“联合部队”开展行动。

例如，新西兰皇家空军部队在澳大利亚皇家空军（RAAF）部队内部执行任务时，一直使用澳大利亚国防军（ADF）的呼号。两国计划到2035年实现无缝协作，在保持主权独立的同时，相互增强力量。澳大利亚和新西兰的军官都在对方的指挥机构中担任高级职务。

新西兰国防军的行动扩张不仅限于邻国澳大利亚。今年，一名空军准将已被任命到新德里，担任新西兰驻印度国防顾问。此前担任此职的军官都驻扎在其他地方。

2025年7月31日，在新西兰惠灵顿的普基阿胡国家战争纪念公园举行的敬献花圈仪式上，所罗门群岛总理杰里迈亚·马内莱（左）和时任退伍军人事务部长克里斯·彭克在旁观看。（Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images）

印度和新西兰于一年多前签署了防务合作谅解备忘录。

更贴近新西兰自身的情况是，它与南太平洋岛国（包括库克群岛和所罗门群岛）的关系岌岌可危。这些国家在安全和外交事务上都依赖惠灵顿。中国一直在鼓励太平洋岛国接受与北京建立充满争议的关系。

2025 年 12 月，国防部长托尼·戴维斯空军上将告诉议会，该国需要能够“大幅且迅速地”增加其武装部队。

戴维斯表示，拥有超过 15,000 名人员的新西兰国防军已将招募人员的平均时间从 300 天缩短到 200 天以内，目标是仅需 90 天。

国防开支目前约占GDP的1%，预计未来七年将达到2%。2025年4月，联合政府总理克里斯·卢克森表示，目前的国防开支过低。然而，他随后宣布将于11月举行大选，政客们将谨慎行事，避免激怒选民。

Nick Lee-Frampton 是《国防新闻》驻新西兰记者。