Peaceful protest for defence forum Palmerston North forum not an arms expo, New Zealand Defence Industry Association says

Peace Action Manawatu¯ is gearing up for peaceful protest when the New Zealand Defence Industry Association holds its forum at the end of October.

Peace Action Manawatu¯ (PAM) says the NZDIA forum is an arms expo, and war armaments will be on display.

However, NZDIA chair Andrew Ford says the organisation and its membership is “tired of being on the hard end of the boot”.

“There’s a huge misunderstanding by the public. NZDIA does not purchase arms and we do not purchase any products for our members.

“In fact that sort of thing and any dealing in arms is strictly prohibited within New Zealand by law.”

Ford said there is no weapons or arms industry in New Zealand.

He said the theme for this year’s forum is “Exploring the role of industry in national and regional security,” which was clear from the prospectus issued to potential exhibitors and sponsors.

“It is very clear that it is not going to be an arms expo or weapons fair.

“No-one is coming to the NZDIA annual forum in Palmerston North with a shopping cart looking to buy weapons.

“The focus of the event is increasing collaboration across Government agencies to get better value for the taxpayer dollar. We need a collective approach between all national security agencies and industry to deliver well-considered and viable options to the Government of New Zealand.

“This will ensure we can meet our obligations from Antarctica to the South Pacific and wider afield with trade relationships and security of trade supply lines.”

Both Ford and NZDIA chief executive Jennie Vickers say the New Zealand Defence Force needs quite a few resources to do its job in the world community.

There are constraints on what the Government can say about its defence purchasing, because of international agreements and trade treaties.

“The law forbids them from stating they want to buy New Zealand-made where possible, so we need to find a way to get New Zealand business access to defence personnel and government officials who are in charge of making these decisions,” Vickers said.

“We want to lift their profiles and generate relationships at the forum.

“If the forum didn’t happen, New Zealand would still have to buy its supplies for defence and security. The forum makes it possible for local companies to be part of this, rather than have all the money go overseas.

“The forum is way to create networking within New Zealand to see how more of our own defence dollars can be spent locally.

Last week PAM spokesperson Dr Fred Hirst said it was convenient NZDIA had not divulged the names of its current sponsors before the event.

“No one can confirm with certainty they are the arms dealers/manufacturers without access to the trade stands.

“We know Lockheed Martin are represented on the NZDIA board of directors and going for re-election on 31 October. Voting results will be announced at their forum dinner.”

Ford said a range of companies that already supplied goods and services to the NZ Government were supporting the event.

“There has been increasing interest over the years from more and new companies in supporting the event, and we changed the sponsorship structure from having a principal sponsor to tiers of sponsorship to accommodate their desire to support.

“Lockheed Martin is not a platinum sponsor of this year’s forum.”

Mayor Grant Smith also responded to PAM’s allegations that the forum is an arms expo and should not be using a council building for its annual forum.

“The NZDIA has been treated no different from other events.

“There are currently three events a year that involve weapons, ammunition or an activity that some personal opinions may find objectionable.

“These events have never had any negativity and have been hosted at our venues for many years. It could be argued that NZDIA has been singled out, which is not the purpose of policy.”

Manager venues Palmerston North John Lynch sent a letter to Waldegrave St residents that access to the Central Energy Trust Arena will be restricted and an approved traffic management plan will be in place surrounding the facilities. On confirmation, residents will have unrestricted access to their properties.

PAM says the plans are “illegal, a violation of rights and a restriction of freedom of speech”.

“This weapons trade fair has been driven out of Wellington and Auckland because of wide opposition to war profiteering. This is a desperate attempt to shut down legitimate dissent and to court the weapons industry. Their right to privately profit from weapons sales apparently trumps our democratic rights to freedom of speech, movement and peaceful assembly,” Hirst said.

Ford says they respect everyone’s right to protest.

“Freedom of speech also means we can go about our business. Frankly in the last few years the protesting has become more hard core and in your face. It is quite frightening.

“Last year I had a lady stand right in my face yelling at the top of her voice that I was killing her babies. That is so far from the truth,” said Ford.

Ford is an ex-serviceman who has done duty as a peacekeeper in Bosnia.

“I know what war and conflict look like. That is not what our members are promoting.

“The protesters’ declared intentions make a large police presence necessary at the venue. Inside the stadium we take care of security ourselves but outside on the street is a different matter. Police involvement will cost us a lot of money and that could be much better spent on local programmes, such as tree planting. We also work with the RSA to help veterans back into work when they return home from active duty. Security of the forum venue is a major part of our budget,” Ford said.

“New Zealand does a lot of relief work as well as peacekeeping around the world and local companies would like a slice of the money the country spends on this. Our members are genuinely interested in New Zealand defence.”

The NZDIA will plant a tree for each delegate at Linton Army Camp, hand out reusable conference bags, avoid paper cups and bring interesting people to Palmerston North who wouldn’t come otherwise. This includes a German woman in astronaut training for the European space programme.

She will spend time at local schools talking to students about space programmes and being an astronaut.