34751 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Defence

Written Question

Published date: 16 Aug 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	34751 (2026)
Question asked:	02 Aug 2026
Member asking:	Francisco Hernandez
Portfolio:	Minister of Defence
Minister replying:	Hon Chris Penk
Answer received:	10 Aug 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_34751_2026
Document guid:	bfa756a7-37e5-408f-90a5-d97d85432173

34751 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Defence: How much, if any, is the total (finalised) budget in the Minister's departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, for the 2026/27 financial year on artificial intelligence- including costs on training staff, deploying systems, maintaining subscriptions and any other associated costs?

Hon Chris Penk: Ministry of Defence: $120,000. New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF): $250,000. Microsoft Copilot is provided through existing Microsoft 365 licensing arrangements. As the cost of Copilot is bundled within broader software licence subscriptions, the AI-specific component cannot be separately identified from available NZDF budget information.