Increasing military presence at managed isolation and quarantine facilities might help boost public confidence, but it’s not a long-term solution, Laura Walters reports
Boosting the numbers of military staff at managed isolation facilities is designed to help bolster public confidence in the Covid response, but an expert warns against long-term reliance on the New Zealand Defence Force.
Earlier this week, the Government announced it would deploy a further 500 defence force personnel to managed isolation facilities, in an effort to reduce reliance on private security firms – particularly at high-risk facilities.
The military will also be deployed to monitor the country’s maritime borders, as testing of thousands of staff at ports continues.
Meanwhile, New Zealand First has unveiled its own border policy, which would see the whole border quarantine operation moved into existing military facilities at Waiouru, Ōhakea and Burnham. And like National, NZ First has also proposed the creation of a new Border Protection Force.
While the NZDF has been part of the Covid border response, until now the Government has not deployed large numbers of personnel into security roles. Nor has there been a heavy reliance on defence facilities.
Defence personnel are known for being flexible and able to respond to these types of internal situations, but Massey University Centre for Defence and Security Studies lecturer Terry Johanson said it was important to remember that was not their primary purpose.
Any prolonged reliance on NZDF could also impact their training and proficiency in core military skills.
Johanson said given these factors, the Government rightly chose civil organisations specialising in this field to provide security at the quarantine and managed isolation facilities in the first instance.
But the situation has changed in recent weeks, with public confidence sliding – particularly since the recent cluster that has seen Auckland go back into lockdown.
After a First Security guard at an Auckland hotel released the personal information of 27 returnees and five staff members on Snapchat, confidence in the management of managed isolation and quarantine facilities was further eroded.
In light of this, Jacinda Ardern said it was the Government’s intention to stop using private security contractors, particularly in the riskiest places, such as entry and exit points. These points would now be manned by defence force staff.
Where the Government did use security guards, they would now be employed by MBIE, which would train them, and pay a living wage.
“This will raise accountability and give more central control over procedures,” Ardern said.
“While the current community cluster has not been sourced to a managed isolation and quarantine facility, strengthening security is always an important step,” the Prime Minister said on Wednesday, adding that this had been in the pipeline for some time.
The change will bring the total defence force personnel working on the Covid-19 response to about 1200, making it New Zealand’s largest military contingent since Timor-Leste.
“Regardless of their adaptability and readiness, state military organisations are not specifically designed for these tasks, and therefore may not perform at the level commensurate to a professional private security firm which is specialised in this area.”
The increased reliance on the NZDF was welcomed by Defence Minister Ron Mark, who has made no secret of the fact he believes the military should have played a larger role in the Covid-19 response, from the start.
Therefore, New Zealand First’s plan to put a heavier reliance on the military in its proposed border protection policy is unsurprising.
Mark said the increased military presence announced by the Government would bring “rigour and discipline”, as well as a “dedication to systemised approaches and management”.
However, he acknowledged the limitations of using NZDF personnel in security roles, including their inability to detain, restrain or hold people – they do not have the same powers as private security officers or police.
However, the Defence Act did authorise the NZDF to provide a public service or assist the civil power, and this type of military assistance was not without precedent in recent times.
The NZDF had been used to support the Department of Corrections during strike action, on cordon duties in the aftermath of the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes, and for fire fighting support during the Pigeon Valley fire in Nelson.
“One of the things that we learnt from Christchurch and from Kaikoura, is that the simple presence of military people onsite does tend to increase public confidence, it does tend to increase the level of public compliance, and it has generally a positive effect for the rest of the nation just having the comfort of knowing our military personnel are there doing the job,” Mark said.
Massey University’s Johanson said in the current situation, public perceptions of the military were being leveraged to bring confidence back to the response.
The NZDF had routinely ranked in the top 10 in surveys of the most trusted professions in New Zealand.
And personnel in New Zealand military uniform tended to be received more positively in these situations than may be the case in other states where military forces were viewed with greater suspicion.
But while NZDF had the skills and ability to carry out these types of tasks, Johanson said it was important to note it was not their primary purpose or skillset.
“As a small defence force, the NZDF and its personnel are used to being flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of complex operating environments.”
NZDF personnel trained to respond across the spectrum of military operations, and force protection and security were core skills, which permeated all facets of training and practice of the NZDF, he said.
“What is the role of military forces in New Zealand society? How do New Zealanders want to see their defence and security managed? And what type of domestic and international commitments would they like to see their military forces involved in?”
“It should be remembered that state military forces were created to protect political sovereignty and territorial integrity from external aggression by other state militaries…
“Admittedly, the delineation between external and domestic security threats has blurred significantly, and increasingly military forces are being asked to accept greater involvement in internal matters,” Johanson said.
“Regardless of their adaptability and readiness, state military organisations are not specifically designed for these tasks, and therefore may not perform at the level commensurate to a professional private security firm which is specialised in this area.”
On top of that, there would be a loss of training time and opportunities due to the focus on this support, rather than on meeting and maintaining the levels of capability required in the NZDF’s primary role.
These factors would have factored into the Government’s decision to go with private firms in the first place, Johanson said.
Going forward, if there was to be any prolonged use of the military in this role, or any move towards the type of border policy New Zealand First had proposed, broader questions needed to be asked.
“The validity of NZ First’s proposed policy revolves around the central questions of: What is the role of military forces in New Zealand society? How do New Zealanders want to see their defence and security managed? And what type of domestic and international commitments would they like to see their military forces involved in?”
The proposal of handing over the control of the border to the military, both in times of Covid and beyond, raised more questions than answers, he said.
“It might be a good conversation for the New Zealand public to have as to the direction it wants to take in defining the role of its military forces.”
This boost in defence force personnel at managed isolation and quarantine facilities will be rolled out over the next six weeks. It will see the number of personnel at each facility increase from about four to 19.
There would be a further 80 personnel stationed at the maritime borders to assist Customs.
The first tranche of 30 NZDF staff was deployed to Auckland on Thursday. Each week after that, 75 staff will be provided until each facility is staffed by an additional 15 NZDF staff.
There are currently 32 managed isolation and quarantine facilities. Since managed isolation started about four months ago, almost 40,000 people have been through the facilities.
On top of the increased military support, the Government is rolling out a $6 million MIQ security programme, which includes thermal CCTV, which triggers an alarm if returnees break out.
