NZ First's Ron Mark defends Manawanui ad after backlash

New Zealand First candidate Ron Mark denied that his recent campaign advertisement targeted the gender of the captain when he blamed diversity, equity, and inclusiveness policies for the sinking of the HMNZ Manawanui. The advertisement, which posted on social media, features Mark stating that these policies had gone too far and citing the 2024 loss of the vessel off the coast of Samoa as evidence. He also mentioned soldiers with man buns in the clip, arguing that the military needed to restore its warrior ethos.

Commander Yvonne Gray was the captain of the Manawanui when it sank. She has since been charged for the loss of the vessel. Mark, who served as defence minister, told RNZ that he found it appalling when people suggested women were not fit to serve in the defence force. He stated that Gray has a strong defence and that more attention should be paid to the men who made certain decisions during the incident.

Mark pointed to a specific clause in New Zealand First's defence policy that protects female-specific roles when they are operationally advantageous. He noted that his party's six-year defence plan recognizes that female operators may have better skills in specialised intelligence operations than their male counterparts. Mark called it astonishing that people have overlooked this clause in their criticism of the advertisement.

"This is not an attack on women," Mark said. "The people I most listen to in my life happen to be women, so, lets just end this nonsense." He described the party's policy as being about meritocracy and argued that critics who frame the issue as a political attack against women do a disservice to highly professional female service members.

National leader Christopher Luxon responded to questions about whether he would rule Mark out of holding the defence role again in the future. Luxon said he did not know why Mark was commenting on the matter since he was not at the table during the review. He rejected the assertion that Mark should be excluded from the portfolio, stating that he had no idea what Mark was talking about and joking that Mark might be trying to cosplay US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Luxon emphasized that the country has made a huge investment in the defence force and that its men and women deserve respect.

The timeline of events began with the Manawanui sinking in 2024. Commander Yvonne Gray was charged for the loss of the vessel. Mark, a former defence minister, released the social media advertisement in 2026. The clip features Mark discussing diversity policies and the military's ethos. National leader Christopher Luxon addressed the controversy on October 27, 2026. He confirmed he would not rule Mark out of holding the Defence portfolio again.