Dan Rosewarne hopes frontline soldiers will no longer have to go to a food bank to make ends meet.

The former New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) army officer joined Labour Party Defence spokesperson Andrew Little at the Rangiora RSA to announce a ‘‘fair pay’’ plan for soldiers on Wednesday.

‘‘It is tough because if you’ve got a family to support and you’re going away for long periods of time and having to arrange child care, it makes it difficult,’’ says Mr Rosewarne, Labour’s Waimakariri candidate.

‘‘I had young soldiers under my command who had to go to the foodbank because they weren’t getting those regular pay increases.’’

Under Labour’s plan, the Remuneration Authority will be asked to set ‘‘fair pay rates’’ for all uniformed Defence personnel, says Little.

He says the authority already set the pay rates for the chiefs of the Defence Force, Air Force, Army and Navy.
However, pay rises for frontline soldiers were up to the Chief of Defence.

Soldiers were not permitted to unionise and lacked the ability to bargain for improved conditions.

‘‘As we have found, they can go through long periods of time where they don’t get pay increases, and that shouldn’t be the case,’’ says Little.

‘‘Our Defence Force personnel are special people. They make a choice to serve their country and put themselves in danger.

‘‘From Cyclone Gabrielle and extreme weather events here and in the Pacific, to peacekeeping around the world, our Defence personnel deserve fair pay.’’

The Defence Force’s value was demonstrated in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, says Little.

He says the country needed a Defence Force which was ready to respond to any natural disaster, climate change or to conflict in New Zealand and overseas.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.