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Defence Act 1990

Secretary of Defence, Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Service

26: Chief of Defence Force may be relieved of particular responsibilities in time of war or other like emergency

You could also call this:

"The boss of the Defence Force can have some jobs taken away in a war or emergency."

Illustration for Defence Act 1990

You can be the boss of the Defence Force, but in a war or big emergency, the Minister of Defence can take away some of your jobs. The Minister can do this if you ask them to, and if they think it will help you do your main jobs better in the war or emergency. The Minister will then give those jobs to another Defence Force member. You will still have to do your main jobs, like being in charge of the Defence Force during a war or emergency. The Minister will choose another person to do the jobs they took away from you. That person will have to answer to the Minister and do those jobs until the Minister says they can stop.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM206022.

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"The boss of New Zealand's Defence Force"

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Part 3Secretary of Defence, Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Service

26Chief of Defence Force may be relieved of particular responsibilities in time of war or other like emergency

  1. In time of war or other like emergency or in the event of any actual or imminent emergency involving the deployment of members of the Armed Forces outside New Zealand, the Minister of Defence may, at the request of the Chief of Defence Force, relieve the Chief of Defence Force of responsibility for any particular function imposed on the Chief of Defence Force by or under this Act or any other enactment, if the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary or desirable to do so to enable the Chief of Defence Force to perform the principal functions of the Chief of Defence Force in relation to the war or other like emergency or to the actual or imminent emergency, as the case may require.

  2. Where under subsection (1) the Minister relieves the Chief of Defence Force of responsibility for any function, the Minister shall impose that responsibility on some other member of the Defence Force; and that officer shall be and remain responsible to the Minister for the performance of that function until relieved of that responsibility by the Minister.