NZ First ad cites DEI for 2024 warship sinking

New Zealand First candidate Ron Mark is defending a campaign advertisement that links diversity policies to the sinking of the naval vessel HMNZ Manawanui.

The clip, posted to social media, shows the former defence minister saying that "woke b******t of diversity, equity and inclusiveness" had gone "too far". Mark adds that the vessel's loss off the coast of Samoa in 2024 was "evidence of that". Commander Yvonne Gray captained the ship when it went down and has been charged over the loss.

Speaking to RNZ, Mark denied that the advertisement had anything to do with the ship being commanded by a woman. He said suggestions that women were unfit to serve in the defence force were "appalling". Mark said Gray had a "strong defence" and that more attention should fall on "the men who made certain decisions" around the sinking.

He pointed to NZ First's defence policy, which carries a clause protecting "female-specific roles" where they are "operationally advantageous", including specialised intelligence work where female operators are described as having better skills than their male counterparts. Mark said it was "astonishing" that people had overlooked that clause. He described the policy as meritocracy and said: "This is not an attack on women." The advertisement also shows Mark stating "soldiers with man buns, they don't scare anybody", and he said the military needed to restore its "warrior ethos".

National leader Christopher Luxon was asked whether he would rule Mark out of holding the defence portfolio again. Luxon said he did not know why Mark was commenting on the matter, adding: "There was a decent review done around what happened with the Manawanui, and I reject that assertion." He also said: "Maybe he's trying to cosplay [US Defence Secretary] Pete Hegseth or something." Luxon said members of the defence force "deserve our respect. They serve us." He did not rule Mark out of the portfolio.