New Zealand First Regional Fund Misuse

525. So all the talk this weekend was about our defense strategy, whether we're free loaders about whether we should have a conversation about allowing nuclear propelled vessel vessels into our ports. But there were a few other things that were discussed in Singapore. Uh the AUKUS partners, including us, because we're sort of flirting with Pillar 2, agreed to commence a program to construct underwater drone submarines to remotely control uh remotely controlled to patrol the deep and protect the wires that connect the world. I thought this was amazing. This shows the changing face of warfare, which is changing at a rapid pace. The hostilities in the Straits of Hormuz, what have I got there? Drone speedboats, the hostilities in Ukraine. Did you see the tally last night? Those drones are amazing and they're cheap. The future of warfare is not in big war machines, but rather this cheaper drone technology uh controlled by a laptop and not a huge mainframe. And meanwhile, there has been talk in New Zealand that rather than buying new frigates, we may actually refurbish our existing stock. And in the latest budget, there was also money put aside to develop new drone capabilities. Okay? So that's the future. And all the debate, everyone's going, we need to buy a couple of extra frigates. I don't think that's going to happen. I think we're going to buy an awful lot of drones. And meanwhile, the summit in Singapore also talked about what Australia has to do for AUKUS. You might have heard the Prime Minister saying, well, Australia won't have nuclear propelled submarines until 2040. But there's a new rotational plan that's starting in 2027, where nuclear propelled and nuclear-armed warships will have a program where they vi regularly visit Port Sterling, which is in Western Australia, I believe, but it's certainly in Australia. And they're going to do they're going to be going there all the time. And this is to help Australia develop the ability to run a nuclear fleet. And if involved in military exercises in the South Pacific Ocean, it seems logical to me to assume that we will be asked for visits sooner rather than later, and this all starts in 2027. So look, I think we can be justifiably proud of our non-nuclear stance over the last 40 years. And according to a stuff poll out today, 70% of us are. But it also seems to me, with the world as it is, that it's becoming increasingly delusional to ban not uh nuclear propulsion and what is an increasingly militaristic world.