New Zealand’s economic future in the Pacific depends on the government’s $714.2 boost in foreign aid, according to Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
Mr Peters defended the increased spending, which saw The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) receive an additional $641.9 million, saying "our very economic and peaceful existence depends upon it."
"You cannot vacate a huge theatre, one third of the world's surface, namely the Pacific, in terms of proper policy and proper assistance, and expect other players won't fill the gap and sometimes in a very adverse way," he said.
"If you're looking at the long-term interest of New Zealand and indeed of the Pacific, this is what we're going to have to do and I believe the majority of New Zealand people understand that.”
Asked whether the decision was a response to increased Chinese influence in the Pacific, Mr Peters says a number of new influences in the region were behind the funding boost.
"It's a response to a whole lot of influences in the Pacific, but above all it's a response to the obligation that we have as a primary voice in this part of the world, trusted by most of the world in what we do," he said.
"To step up and do what we have to do."
"We were going around the world on the cheap pulling on doors marked push when it comes to foreign affairs and trade."
Mr Peters said the increase in funding for MFAT left NZ in a better position to secure free trade deals ahead of talks with the British and Japanese governments.
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