Patrol craft to replace frigate

By VERNON SMALL deputy political editor

New surveillance ships to replace the ageing frigate Canterbury and a reduced military role for the Air Force Orions are on the cards.

The Government has also opened up the possibility of businesses being involved in monitoring the seas around New Zealand.

A major review of maritime surveillance handed to Helen Clark last week shows that surveillance, like fisheries protection and customs patrols, have become what the Prime Minister described as "a pretty thin blue line."

The Government is now looking at where the gaps are.

Helen Clark told the Herald the key would be coordinating the needs of the country - including military defence, fisheries, customs, immigration, border control, biosecurity and civil defence.

She said the Government would retain "up to" the present six Orions and the Navy's surface fleet needed to be expanded to improve surveillance.

While HMNZS Canterbury is not due to be retired until 2005, the review raises what Helen Clark called "interesting issues" about the frigate's replacement.

"What we know is that for the price of a fully equipped Anzac frigate we could get a lot of very helpful maritime surveillance and naval vessels.

"If you're now looking to replace you could do an awful lot of spending - up to three-quarters of a billion dollars - to get yourself probably more competent coverage in naval terms.

"The frigates are not primarily maritime surveillance, they are combat frigates.

"We need a capacity to be able to do that sort of mission with a vessel that is appropriate for it."

The Prime Minister said the review "won't be adverse" for the Orions.

The Air Force says the P3K Orions dedicate 52 per cent of their missions to "national tasks" including surveillance, search and rescue, and resource protection, and 48 per cent to "cooperative tasks," which are mainly military.

The Government last year scrapped a $568 million upgrade of the Orions' antiquated radar, known as Project Sirius, but a cheaper option is likely to anger Australia and the United States, which want New Zealand to maintain its submarine detection capability.

"We would be most unlikely to spend on the antisubmarine warfare capability," Helen Clark said yesterday.

In 35 years the Orions had not detected a single submarine.

"We were being asked to spend more than half a billion dollars to spot vessels which aren't there and haven't been found to be there in the entire time we've been trying to spot them."

She said good surface surveillance would not cost anything like the price of the Sirius upgrade.

The report looked at New Zealand's international obligations, including responsibility for "navigation area 14," which extends halfway across the Pacific to Chile.

"Our Maritime Safety Authority and Civil Aviation Authority are the competent authorities in issuing warning notices to vessels and planes to keep clear.

"Now that's the kind of broader responsibility we have," Helen Clark said.

The report also looked at possible private sector involvement in maritime and air surveillance.

In December, a private company, Surveillance Australia, put on a demonstration of its capability for customs and fisheries officials, using De Havilland Dash-8 aircraft.

Its main client is the Australian Coastwatch, a joint venture between the Australian military and customs.

But despite the savings on Sirius and the likelihood of surface ships cheaper than a third Anzac frigate, Helen Clark said there were no plans to cut overall defence spending.