New Zealand Defence Chief Tony Davies Resigns Over Undisclosed Relationship

WELLINGTON. Air Marshal Tony Davies resigned as Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force on Friday, October 23, after telling the government about an inappropriate relationship from his time in a unit command that he had not disclosed when he had the chance to do so.

The Defence Force said Davies had informed Defence Minister Paul Goldsmith of his resignation. In his own statement, Davies said the decision was for personal reasons and came from errors of judgement in the past, for which he was taking responsibility.

What Davies said

Davies said the errors were contrary to the values of the Defence Force. "These matters revolved around an inappropriate relationship I had when in a position of unit command, and I regret not disclosing this when I had the opportunity to do so," he said, in words carried by Reuters from the Defence Force statement.

The Defence Force has not publicly named the other person involved and has not published further detail about the relationship. Nothing in the statements released on Friday described any effect on current operations, and the resignation was presented as a matter of integrity and disclosure rather than performance in the top job.

The minister's response

Goldsmith said he and Davies agreed that the position was no longer tenable. "The reasons regarding his decision relate to integrity matters that he did not previously disclose," the minister said. He said he would recommend to the Governor-General that she accept the resignation.

Vice Chief of the Defence Force Rear Admiral Mat Williams will serve as acting chief while the change at the top is completed, the Defence Force said. The Chief of the Defence Force is the professional head of the military, in command of the Navy, the Army and the Air Force, and serves as the government's principal senior military adviser, so a sudden change in the role is a significant moment for the institution.

A career of more than four decades

Davies joined New Zealand's military in 1984 and was appointed to the top job in June 2024. His career in uniform ran for more than four decades before he took command of the whole Defence Force a little over two years ago.

His resignation leaves the government to run a process for a permanent successor while Williams holds the role in an acting capacity. The Defence Force statement gave no timetable for that appointment. For now, the facts on the record are the ones Davies and the minister put there themselves on Friday: a relationship that should have been disclosed was not, the minister judged the position untenable once it was, and New Zealand's top military officer has stepped down.