19 April 2024
Lional Jones
[FYI request #26052 email] Dear Lional
RESPONSE TO YOUR OFFICIAL INFORMATION REQUEST
Thank you for your email of 10 March 2024, in which you requested, pursuant to the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:
lists of persons on working groups or other panels responsible for aircraft
procurement decisions between August 2017 and current. Please list them by name,
role/rank and if they declared any conflicts of interest.
On 12 April, I informed you that I was extending your request by five working days to 19
April, to complete the necessary consultation with other government agencies for your
request. Agency consultation is now complete.
The Ministry of Defence (the Ministry) is the agency responsible for the purchase of large
scale military equipment. During the period covered by your request, this has involved the
purchase of the following aircraft:
Air Surveillance Maritime Patrol (ASMP) project – delivering the P-8A Poseidon aircraft
Future Air Mobility Capability – Tactical (FAMC-T) project – delivering the C-130J-30
Super Hercules aircraft.
The Cabinet makes final decisions on the purchase of major defence equipment. In the case
of the purchase of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft, the purchase decision was made by Cabinet in
July 2018. In the case of the C-130J-30 Hercules, the purchase decision was made by
Cabinet in June 2020. The decisions and associated Cabinet papers for both the ASMP and
FAMC-T projects are available on the Ministry’s website at:
https://defence.govt.nz/publications.
The purchase decisions were informed by project implementation business cases approved
by joint governance boards involving senior members of both the Ministry and New Zealand
Defence Force (NZDF). The membership of these governance bodies for the relevant
purchase business cases is provided at Appendix A and includes:
Defence Capability Governance Board (CGB)
Defence Capability Management Group (CMG)
Future Air Surveillance Capability Project Board
Future Air Capability Mobility – Tactical Project Board.
The project boards each include an external member, who is an advisory member appointed
to strengthen the board through their expertise and experience in the governance of relevant
complex and large scale projects. They provide additional assurance, subject matter
expertise and diversity of thinking and challenge within the board. The external member is a
fully participating member but does not have any individual decision-making authority. I have
not provided the names of external board members. This is necessary, in accordance with
section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act, to support free and frank discussion and maintain the effective
administration of these bodies.
More details about the joint Defence governance for major equipment projects are provided
below.
Capability Management System
The Ministry and NZDF jointly operate the Capability Management System that enables cost
effective design, delivery, maintenance and eventual disposal of military capability. These
governance bodies focus on whether projects are on schedule, within scope and on budget,
and that risks and issues are being appropriately identified and managed. They make
decisions and provide the necessary approvals for projects. Although these governance
bodies are focused on the successful delivery of these projects, investment intentions are
subject to individual business cases and subject to Cabinet approval.
Project Boards
Projects are governed by project boards, commensurate with the scale and risk of the
project. Project boards are responsible for providing ongoing assurance to the CGB that the
project will successfully deliver the expected outcomes and benefits.
Governance Bodies
The CGB is the highest level governance body for capability projects. It acts as an escalation
point for any operational risks and issues that threaten the successful delivery of projects.
The CMG supports the CGB by making recommendations based on a common
understanding and alignment of the members’ delegated management responsibilities. It is
focused on operational management activities, such as project risk management and
resource coordination.
Conflicts of Interest
Following a review of the relevant information and to the best of our knowledge, whilst some
members have declared interests, no actual conflicts of interest were identified for any
members of these Boards.
All new appointees to governance boards are asked to consider and declare any actual or
perceived conflicts of interest on appointment. All governance members are also expected to
report any potential conflicts as they arise – governance meetings commence with an
invitation to record these. There is also an annual requirement to update individual interest
declarations, which is reviewed by Audit New Zealand as part of standard practice. Conflicts
are also reported in the Ministry’s responses to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Select Committee as part of the annual financial review process.
It is not considered that the public interest in this information outweighs the need to protect it.
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Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to request the Ombudsman to investigate
and review this response.
Yours sincerely
Sarah Minson
Deputy Secretary, Capability Delivery
Appendix A: Members of governance groups involved in aircraft purchase decisions.
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APPENDIX A: MEMBERS OF GOVERNANCE GROUPS INVOLVED IN
AIRCRAFT PURCHASE DECISIONS
Future Air Surveillance Capability Board– P-8A Implementation Business Case
Capability Governance Board – Approved submission of the business case to Cabinet
Role on Board
Position, Rank (if applicable), Name
Co-Chair (MOD)
Secretary of Defence, Ms Helene Quilter
Co-Chair (NZDF)
Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Kevin Short*
External member
Civilian
Capability Management Group – endorsed the business case
Role on Board
Position, Rank (if applicable), Name
Co-Chair (MOD)
Deputy Secretary Capability Delivery, Mr Mike Yardley
Co-Chair (NZDF)
Vice Chief of Defence Force, Air Vice Marshal Kevin Short*
Member
Director Executive Branch, Ms Carol Douglass
Member
Assistant Chief Capability, Air Commodore Andrew Clark
Member
Deputy Commander Joint Force New Zealand, Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy
Member
Deputy Chief of Navy, Commodore Mat Williams
Member
Deputy Chief of Army (Representative), Colonel Mathew Boggs
Member
Deputy Chief of Air Force (Representative), Group Captain Karl Harvey
Future Air Mobility Capability Project Board – endorsed the business case
Role on Board
Rank (if applicable) Name
Co-Chair (MOD)
Deputy Secretary Policy and Planning, Mr Tony Lynch
Co-Chair (NZDF)
Deputy Commander Joint Force New Zealand, Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy
Senior User
Director Information and Capability Technology Operations, Group Captain John
Lovatt
Senior Supplier
Assistant Deputy Secretary Capability Delivery, Mr Huntley Wright
External Member
Civilian
* On 1 July 2018, Vice Chief of Defence Force, Air Vice Marshal Kevin Short was promoted to Chief of
Defence Force.
Future Air Mobility Capability Project – C-130J Project Implementation Business Case
Capability Governance Board – Approved submission of the business case to Cabinet
Role on Board
Position, Rank (if applicable), Name
Co-Chair (MOD)
Secretary of Defence, Mr Andrew Bridgman
Co-Chair (NZDF)
Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Kevin Short
External member
Civilian
Combined Capability Management Group and Acquisition Review Board – endorsed the
business case
Role on Board
Position, Rank (if applicable), Name
Co-Chair (MOD)
Acting Deputy Secretary Policy and Planning, Mr Mike Yardley
Co-Chair (NZDF)
Vice Chief of Defence Force, Air Vice Marshal Tony Davies
Member
Acting Deputy Secretary Capability Delivery, Mr Richard Burn
Member
Assistant Chief Capability, Air Commodore Darryn Webb
Member
Acting Deputy Chief of Navy, Captain Melanie Ross
Member
Acting Deputy Chief of Army, Colonel Duncan Roy
Member
Deputy Chief of Air Force, Air Commodore Carol Abraham
Member
Air Component Commander, Air Commodore Tim Walshe
Member
Logistics Commander (Air), Group Captain Colin Marshall
Member
MOD Chief Financial Officer, Mr Pasanka Wickremasinghe
Member
Chief Staff Officer Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand, Captain Andrew
Brown
Future Air Mobility Capability Project Board – endorsed the business case
Role on Board
Position, Rank (if applicable), Name
Co-Chair (MOD)
Director Land Domain, Mr Richard Burn
Co-Chair (NZDF)
Land Component Commander, Brigadier Hugh McAslan
Senior User
Air Component Commander, Air Commodore Tim Walshe
Senior Supplier
Director Air Domain, Mr Neil Hygate
External Member
Civilian
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