Webinar: God Defend New Zealand: Defence Modernisation for the Information Age
New Zealand has committed $12 billion to defence over four years, with a path to spending more than 2% of GDP within eight years. That is a serious fiscal commitment. But will the money produce a defence force fit for the world we actually face?
Join us for a webinar to launch our new research note, God Defend New Zealand. Major General (Retired) John Howard argues that more money is necessary but not sufficient. The real bottleneck is institutional: acquisition systems built for an earlier era, fragmented digital infrastructure, and policy settings that struggle to deliver information-age capability at the speed the strategic environment now demands.
John, the author of the paper, will set out the case for treating the current defence uplift as an opportunity to modernise not just platforms but the policy and institutional machinery behind them. He recommends sharper investment in intelligence, space, domestic innovation and digital architecture, areas where a small state can generate disproportionate value for itself and its partners.
John will be joined by Sir Rod Drury, who will offer a perspective on what defence modernisation looks like through the lens of technology, platforms and domestic innovation.
Date: Thursday, 23 April 2026
Time: 2:00pm
Registration: Please register for the webinar via this link
Q&A: Submit your question in advance on Slido.com here or using code #2534902
About the speakers:
Major General (Ret) John G. Howard, MNZM, Senior Fellow, The New Zealand Initiative
John Howard is a Senior Fellow of The New Zealand Initiative and Managing Director of The Source Consultancy. He served over four decades in the New Zealand Defence Force, including as the inaugural Chief of Defence Intelligence, where he shaped the NZDF's strategic intelligence enterprise and represented New Zealand across Five Eyes intelligence boards and Military Intelligence NATO. His international appointments included Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the only non-American executive officer serving across all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.
Sir Rod Drury, Technology Entrepreneur and Founder of Xero
Sir Rod Drury is one of New Zealand's most influential tech entrepreneurs. He founded the global small business accounting platform Xero, leading it to a top-performing ASX100 company employing over 5,000 people in 25+ locations. The 2026 New Zealander of the Year, Sir Rod continues to innovate, applying his platform mindset to some of New Zealand's most complex challenges.
Dr Oliver Hartwich - Executive Director, The New Zealand Initiative
Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.