The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is working on a National Security Strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand, to protect New Zealand and its people, today and into the future.
We acknowledge the 51 shuhada, their whānau and survivors and witnesses of the March 15 terror attack on Christchurch masjidain.
The Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terror attack on Christchurch masjidain made 44 recommendations that the Government has accepted in principle.
One way to give effect to the intent of the Report is through a national security strategy. The Report recognised the value of broader system improvements for New Zealanders and our national security.
New Zealand faces growing threats from forces and interests that would do us harm. The range of challenges spans terrorism and violent extremism, strategic competition in the Pacific, foreign interference, cyber incidents, and more.
Our National Security Strategy will reflect who we are as a nation, and how we protect Aotearoa New Zealand in the face of these challenges. It will recognise our unique constitutional arrangements under te Tiriti o Waitangi as well as te ao Māori and our place in the Pacific.
The Strategy will create a more effective national security system that New Zealanders trust, by:
- encouraging a more open, accessible, and mature conversation with New Zealanders on national security;
- providing a clear articulation of New Zealand’s national security vision, interests, principles and priorities;
- ensuring New Zealand can make appropriate national security choices for the nation;
- providing overarching guidance across a growing number of individual strategies;
- recognising the connections between national security and other important areas, like climate change and social cohesion; and
- reflecting te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the role of Māori in national security.
The National Security Strategy is expected to be released in 2023.
Public engagement
Public engagement on the development of the National Security Strategy took place from July-October 2022. You can find background material on the Strategy used to support the engagement (in English, te reo Māori, Gagana Sāmoa, Arabic, Español, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Urdu and Korean), and the public engagement summary below.
Public engagement focused on the role society plays in national security, how government can enable this participation, and what the public wanted to see in a national security vision. We also asked about how to improve public trust and confidence in national security agencies, and the role of te Tiriti o Waitangi in national security.
This process was part of an ongoing public conversation on national security which will continue beyond the completion of the Strategy. There will be further opportunities for you to participate in the national security discussion.
Background information
You can find the Cabinet papers on the Strategy and System Reform here.
Contact us
To register for updates on the Strategy or to ask questions, you can email us.
Email: [email protected]