Statement of Intent 1 July 2005 - 30 June 2008
Structure and roles of the Ministry
The Defence Act 1990 created two organisations from the then Ministry of Defence: the Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force.
Under section 24 of the Defence Act 1990, the Secretary of Defence is chief executive of the Ministry of Defence, and has specific responsibilities toward the Ministry, the New Zealand Defence Force, and New Zealand's defence and security.
Section 24 states that:
- The chief executive of the Ministry of Defence shall be known as the Secretary of Defence.
- In addition to the functions imposed on the Secretary of Defence by or under this Act or the State Sector Act 1988 or any other enactment, the Secretary shall have the following functions:
- To be the principal civilian adviser to the Minister and other Ministers:
- To formulate advice, in consultation with the Chief of Defence Force, on defence policy:
- To prepare, in consultation with the Chief of Defence Force, and submit to the Minister from time to time a defence assessment, including a review of different options capable of achieving the Government's policy goals:
- To procure, replace, or repair ships, vehicles, aircraft, and equipment used or intended for use by the Defence Force, where that procurement, replacement, or repair has major significance to military capability; and to deliver or return such ships, vehicles, aircraft, and equipment to the Defence Force:
- To arrange for the assessment and audit of the New Zealand Defence Force in relation to any function, duty, or project, and of the Ministry of Defence in relation to any function described in paragraph (d) of this subsection, as and when required by the Minister, or in accordance with a programme of audit and assessment approved by the Minister, and in accordance with the following provisions:
- The findings of the audit and assessment shall be set out in a report in the name of the person in charge of the audit and assessment, and that person shall give the report to the Secretary of Defence for submission to the Minister:
- On giving the report to the Secretary of Defence, the person in charge of the audit and assessment shall give a copy of the report to the Chief of Defence Force:
- If the Secretary of Defence disagrees with any of the contents of the report, the Secretary shall advise the Minister of the particulars with which the Secretary disagrees:
- The Chief of Defence Force may report to the Minister on any of the contents of the report.
Section 3 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 requires the Secretary of Defence to audit the controls on hazardous substances under the control of the Minister of Defence and report the results to the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Defence.
Figure 1 illustrates the structure and roles of the Ministry of Defence, and its links with the New Zealand Defence Force.
Figure 1: Struture and Roles of the Ministry of Defence
