Overseas Military and Aid Expenditure
Nigel Gray made this Official Information request to Ministry of Defence
The request was successful.
From: Nigel Gray
Dear Ministry of Defence,
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request disclosure of the following information:
Financial Allocations
A breakdown of all funds allocated, committed, or transferred by the New Zealand Government since 1 January 2023 to overseas governments, agencies, or entities in connection with military, defence, or security-related activities.
The total amount disbursed, categorized by recipient country, agency, or program.
Decision-Making Process
Copies of Cabinet papers, ministerial briefings, or Treasury documents that authorized or recommended these expenditures.
Any legal or policy frameworks cited as justification for such spending.
Recipient Legitimacy and Oversight
Documentation assessing the legitimacy, recognition status, or governance standards of recipient governments or entities.
Any risk assessments, due diligence reports, or oversight mechanisms applied before funds were transferred.
Public Accountability
Details of how these expenditures were communicated to Parliament or the public, including press releases, budget statements, or Hansard references.
Any monitoring or evaluation reports on the impact of these funds.
Format Requested
I request that the information be provided in electronic form (PDF or spreadsheet), with clear itemization of amounts, dates, and recipients.
Statutory Reference
Under section 12 of the Official Information Act 1982, I am entitled to this information as a New Zealand citizen. I remind the agency of its obligations under section 15 to respond no later than 20 working days after receipt of this request.
Closing
If any part of this request is refused, please provide the specific grounds under section 18 of the Act, and identify the person responsible for the decision.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Gray
From: Information
Ministry of Defence
Kia ora,
Thank you for your request for official information. This will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant agency or Minister.
The Ministry may publish the content of our response to your request on the Ministry of Defence website (www.defence.govt.nz). Your personal information will not be published. More information on making an official information request with the Ministry of Defence is available here: https://www.defence.govt.nz/contact-us/o....
Please note that under section 2 of the Official Information Act, the period of 25 December - 15 January (inclusive) are not considered working days. Therefore, 20 working days from the date of your request is 27 January 2026.
Ngā mihi,
Ministry of Defence
Ministerial and Public Services Branch
Manatū Kaupapa Waonga - New Zealand Ministry of Defence
Defence House, 34 Bowen Street, PO Box 12703, Wellington 6144, New Zealand
-----Original Message-----
From: Nigel Gray [mailto:[FOI #33154 email]]
Sent: Saturday, 6 December 2025 9:11 a.m.
To: Information <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Overseas Military and Aid Expenditure
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Dear Ministry of Defence,
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request disclosure of the following information:
Financial Allocations
A breakdown of all funds allocated, committed, or transferred by the New Zealand Government since 1 January 2023 to overseas governments, agencies, or entities in connection with military, defence, or security-related activities.
The total amount disbursed, categorized by recipient country, agency, or program.
Decision-Making Process
Copies of Cabinet papers, ministerial briefings, or Treasury documents that authorized or recommended these expenditures.
Any legal or policy frameworks cited as justification for such spending.
Recipient Legitimacy and Oversight
Documentation assessing the legitimacy, recognition status, or governance standards of recipient governments or entities.
Any risk assessments, due diligence reports, or oversight mechanisms applied before funds were transferred.
Public Accountability
Details of how these expenditures were communicated to Parliament or the public, including press releases, budget statements, or Hansard references.
Any monitoring or evaluation reports on the impact of these funds.
Format Requested
I request that the information be provided in electronic form (PDF or spreadsheet), with clear itemization of amounts, dates, and recipients.
Statutory Reference
Under section 12 of the Official Information Act 1982, I am entitled to this information as a New Zealand citizen. I remind the agency of its obligations under section 15 to respond no later than 20 working days after receipt of this request.
Closing
If any part of this request is refused, please provide the specific grounds under section 18 of the Act, and identify the person responsible for the decision.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Gray
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From: Information
Ministry of Defence
Kia ora,
Please find attached our response to you Official Information request.
Kind regards,
Ministry of Defence
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||Ministerial|
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||Branch |
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||Manatū |
||Kaupapa |
||Waonga - |
||New Zealand|
||Ministry of|
||Defence |
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||Defence |
||House, 34 |
||Bowen |
||Street, PO |
||Box 12703, |
||Wellington |
||6144, New |
||Zealand |
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-----Original Message-----
From: Nigel Gray [mailto:[FOI #33154 email]]
Sent: Saturday, 6 December 2025 9:11 a.m.
To: Information <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Overseas Military and Aid
Expenditure
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization.
Do not follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe. If in any doubt, please
forward the email to [1][email address] and then delete the email from
your Inbox. Thank you
Dear Ministry of Defence,
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request disclosure of the
following information:
Financial Allocations
A breakdown of all funds allocated, committed, or transferred by the New
Zealand Government since 1 January 2023 to overseas governments, agencies,
or entities in connection with military, defence, or security-related
activities.
The total amount disbursed, categorized by recipient country, agency, or
program.
Decision-Making Process
Copies of Cabinet papers, ministerial briefings, or Treasury documents
that authorized or recommended these expenditures.
Any legal or policy frameworks cited as justification for such spending.
Recipient Legitimacy and Oversight
Documentation assessing the legitimacy, recognition status, or governance
standards of recipient governments or entities.
Any risk assessments, due diligence reports, or oversight mechanisms
applied before funds were transferred.
Public Accountability
Details of how these expenditures were communicated to Parliament or the
public, including press releases, budget statements, or Hansard
references.
Any monitoring or evaluation reports on the impact of these funds.
Format Requested
I request that the information be provided in electronic form (PDF or
spreadsheet), with clear itemization of amounts, dates, and recipients.
Statutory Reference
Under section 12 of the Official Information Act 1982, I am entitled to
this information as a New Zealand citizen. I remind the agency of its
obligations under section 15 to respond no later than 20 working days
after receipt of this request.
Closing
If any part of this request is refused, please provide the specific
grounds under section 18 of the Act, and identify the person responsible
for the decision.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Gray
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[2][FOI #33154 email]
Is [3][Ministry of Defence request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Ministry of Defence? If so, please contact us using this form:
[4]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:
The information contained in this email message is intended only for the
addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the
Ministry. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use,
disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you
have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender
immediately. Thank you"
References
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SPENCER JONES left an annotation ()
Public Annotation – Overseas Military and Aid Expenditure (#33154)
Thank you to the Ministry of Defence for responding to this request.
1. Verified Transfer – $1.5m (Corroborated)
The response confirms that $1.5 million was transferred from Vote Defence to Vote Foreign Affairs in 2023/24 for support related to Ukraine.
This figure is independently corroborated in the Supplementary Estimates (Vote Foreign Affairs) published by Treasury, which records the inter-Vote transfer.
This component of the response appears accurate and verifiable against public financial documents.
⸻
2. “Link-Out Substitution” Pattern
However, the core request sought:
• A comprehensive itemised breakdown of all funds allocated/committed/transferred since 1 January 2023,
• Categorised by recipient country, agency, or programme, and
• Supported by decision documentation and due diligence material.
Instead of supplying a consolidated breakdown or dataset, the response primarily:
• Identifies a single confirmed transfer ($1.5m),
• Directs readers to publicly available Cabinet material and Budget documents.
This approach amounts to what may be described as “link-out substitution” — where references to public documents are provided in place of a structured, consolidated answer to the specific scope requested.
While public documents are useful, they do not substitute for:
• A single ledger-style register of overseas defence-related spending since 1 January 2023,
• Nor do they clearly distinguish allocated vs committed vs disbursed amounts.
⸻
3. Fragmentation Across Agencies
This request sits alongside parallel request:
• #33153 – Overseas Military and Aid Expenditure (MFAT)
Taken together, the responses from MoD and MFAT illustrate a fragmentation issue:
• MoD identifies a Vote transfer,
• MFAT holds operational aid expenditure streams,
• Neither response appears to present a consolidated national spending picture.
Researchers should review both threads together to understand the inter-agency split.
Other related FYI requests listed on the page (including defence agreements and Ukraine support material) may also assist triangulation.
⸻
4. What Has Not Yet Been Provided (Research Roadmap)
The following requested elements do not appear to have been fully supplied:
1. A complete, itemised breakdown (spreadsheet format) of:
• All funds allocated, committed, or transferred since 1 January 2023,
• By country, agency, programme, and Vote source.
2. Clear distinction between:
• Allocations,
• Commitments,
• Disbursements.
3. Linked decision-chain documentation for each material expenditure:
• Cabinet papers,
• Ministerial briefings,
• Treasury advice.
4. Due diligence and risk assessment documentation:
• Procurement/probity checks,
• Compliance assessments,
• Partner vetting.
5. Monitoring and evaluation material where applicable.
Without a consolidated spending register, readers must manually reconstruct the picture across:
• Budget documents,
• Supplementary Estimates,
• Cabinet publications,
• Separate agency responses.
⸻
5. Current State
The request is marked “successful” on FYI.
However, in practical terms, the response provides:
• A verified single transfer,
• Public document references,
• But not a comprehensive, consolidated breakdown of overseas defence/security-related spending since 1 January 2023.
Researchers, journalists, and interested members of the public may wish to review:
• #33154 (MoD)
• #33153 (MFAT)
• Treasury Supplementary Estimates
• Cabinet publications relating to Ukraine and overseas support
to assemble a fuller national picture.
Link to this