National rejects Air Force move

National is likely to reverse Labour's decision to shift the Whenuapai Air Force Base units to Ohakea should the party become Government.

Finance spokesman and Helensville MP John Key said there were many reasons, including cost, to keep Whenuapai open for the Air Force and not consolidate at Ohakea.

In late 2002, Defence Minister Mark Burton announced Whenuapai would be closed and Air Force operations consolidated at Ohakea within five years.

But Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton said last month, after renewed Cabinet consideration of Whenuapai's future, that the Defence Force would not leave until 2010 at the earliest and 2014 at the latest.

Sources say the projected cost of the shift could be around $150 million - at least 50 per cent higher than initially thought. All this has meant deferring any decision to sell the base.

The Waitakere City Council and listed infrastructure investor Infratil want to develop a commercial airport but the decision to defer any sale has dealt a blow to those plans.

Meanwhile, an official paper released last month by the Government revealed the Air Force may want to keep some units at Whenuapai even after the shift to Ohakea. These are:

* The Naval Support Flight of five naval helicopters and 68 personnel.

* The Northern Area Cadet Force, which currently relies on facilities at Hobsonville.

* A small air movements capability for passengers and freight.

The paper said those operations would have little impact on the operation of a commercial airport at Whenuapai, although it noted other options for the helicopters and air movements staff included Auckland International Airport.

Mr Key said shifting Whenuapai's units to Ohakea made no economic or operational sense.

National would formally review the decision but the party supported keeping Whenuapai.

He said there were many risks in consolidating the Air Force in one place, and the Boxing Day tsunami had hammered that risk home.

"And if you look at the major role of the Air Force these days, a lot of it is around search and rescue and peacekeeping, so it makes sense, given the size of the population, having some of that based in Auckland."

Mr Key said there were also issues around jobs in the Manawatu for spouses of Air Force staff forced to shift. He believed staff recruitment and retention would be hit.