When Teanau Tuiono said "I sit on the Security and Intelligence Committee" I heard it as 'I sit on the Scary Intelligence Committee'. For a second I thought Parliament had set up a committee for "AI" doomers : P
https://www.1of200.nz/podcast/1200-s2-e192-green-party-foreign-policy-w-teanau-tuiono
"We don't need a traditional military to be doing that job, right? That's a coast guard job ... You could have an entirely different force doing that stuff ... We could even have ... a disaster management/ coast guard/ [anti-]poaching protection force ... You don't need javelin missiles or any of that nonsense for that."
Philip ?, 2026
https://www.1of200.nz/podcast/1200-s2-e192-green-party-foreign-policy-w-teanau-tuiono
It could be an umbrella for firefighting and Search & Rescue services too.
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I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking along these lines. I posted a similar sentiment here yesterday;
https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/@strypey/116439748543754268
But this isn't a new idea. One of my amigos in the anarchist movement published a pamphlet 20-30 years ago proposing the abolition of the armed forces. Replacing them with civilian defence forces along the lines of what Philip and I are advocating for.
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Can't find a copy of the particular text I was thinking of yet, but I did find this;
"It’s commonly noted we need the military for such things as disaster relief operations, search and rescue and fisheries protection. If that is the purpose, we would be better funding a professional coastguard and improving our civil defence capabilities."
#SamBuchanan, 2025
https://www.freedomshopaotearoa.nz/2025/02/could-we-give-this-new-arms-race-miss_26.html
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"It makes a charming photo op to have the air force deliver firewood to tramping huts, but with the price tag of an NH90 at nearly $100 million apiece, it’s also a ridiculous use of resources when a far cheaper civilian helicopter can do the same job."
#SamBuchanan, 2025
https://www.freedomshopaotearoa.nz/2025/02/could-we-give-this-new-arms-race-miss_26.html
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