In the last five years geopolitical threats have ramped up with worsening climate change, China–US tensions over the South China sea and Taiwan, war in Europe with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Add to that the reignition of conflict in the Middle East with the Israeli-Gaza war.
It comes as the country's Defence Force membership has depleted during the Covid years.
Intelligence agencies are also warning private sector companies about intellectual property theft, and the risk of dual use of their technology, potentially against their own and the country's interests.
Associate professor Wil Hoverd is the director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University.
A new collection of essays he's edited considers New Zealand's readiness for the current, let alone future environment.
The book of essays is State of Threat: The Challenges to Aotearoa New Zealand's National Security, edited by Wil Hoverd and Deidre McDonald, Massey University Press.
Listen to the interview here.
