Defence Act 1990
The Defence Act 1990 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand which establishes the New Zealand Defence Force and defines the respective roles of, and relationships between, the minister of defence, the chief of defence force and the secretary of defence.
Background
Under previous legislation, the three services—New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New Zealand Air Force—were part of the Ministry of Defence. Post-1990, the Ministry of Defence is a separate policy-making body under a secretary of defence; the chief of defence force and secretary of defence have both separate and shared responsibilities.Provisions
Part 1: Constitution of armed forces
The Act constitutes the armed forces "in the name and on behalf of the Sovereign" and grants the governor-general the power of the raise armed forces. The governor-general is, under the Letters Patent 1983, commander-in-chief of New Zealand. The Defence Act greatly restricts the powers of the commander-in-chief, unlike the US president as commander-in-chief for example.The Act then states that the minister of defence: "...shall have the power of control of the New Zealand Defence Force, which shall be exercised through the Chief of Defence Force."
Part 2: The New Zealand Defence Force
The Act defines the different services of New Zealand Defence Forces:And various reserve and territorial services.