Write for us

We welcome unsolicited feature and news articles. If you are interested in writing for us, contact the editor with a pitch via the form below or send your article submission to the editor via email.

Please note:

• We are a group of New Zealand publications. We publish independent news and analysis in relation to issues and products of relevance to New Zealand’s defence and national security, public and private security, and fire protection sectors.
• Apart from our in-house content, our readers benefit from content submitted to us by leading New Zealand and international academics, policy makers, business leaders, industry insiders, researchers and practitioners.
• Please note that we do not offer remuneration/compensation for submitted articles.
• Articles should be as independent as possible. ‘Advertorial’ material that overtly promotes a business’s products/services will not be accepted unless it is accompanied by paid advertising. 
• Please indicate which of our publications you wish your article to appear in: Line of Defence Magazine, NZ Security Magazine, or Fire NZ Magazine.
• If accepted, your article will appear in both the print and digital editions of the nominated magazine as well as on the Defsec Media website.
• News article submissions should range between 400 and 800 words, while feature articles are generally 800 to 1,600 words. We recommend pitching your article idea to the editor via the form below prior to submitting a draft.
• If you are emailing a complete article to us, please submit as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF or other file type. Please include a brief bio of up to 50 words stating your experience, current academic, professional or employment affiliation, location, as well as a good quality profile photo and any good quality images relevant to your article.
• Please indicate whether or not you have also submitted your article for consideration by another publication.
• We will contact you within three days of receiving your pitch or submission to advise you whether it is of interest to us.
• If accepted, your article may undergo an editing process to ensure it meets Defsec Media’s editorial guidelines.

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Contributors and Interviewees

Our publications benefit by the insights and analysis of expert contributors from New Zealand and around the world. Contributors and interviewees are listed alphabetically here:

Scott Arrell is Chairman of the NZDIA. He served for 21 years as an officer and aircrew in the RNZAF, followed by roles as General Manager Hawker Pacific New Zealand, Country Director for Thales New Zealand, Defence Consultant and Country and Key Account Manager for ViaSat Inc.

Robert Ayson is Professor of Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, where he is based at the Centre for Strategic Studies. He has also held academic positions with the ANU, Massey University and the University of Waikato, and official positions with the New Zealand government. He is Adjunct Professor with the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre and Honorary Professor with the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College.

David Barnes is Client Director Defence & National Security at Aurecon, an award-winning provider of engineering, management and specialist technical services for public and private sector clients globally.

David Capie is Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Associate Professor in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington. He has authored or co-authored three books and numerous articles and book chapters. His research has been supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the East-West Center and the Royal Society of New Zealand's Marsden Fund. In 2007, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

Nicholas Dynon is Managing Editor of Line of Defence Magazine. His 14-year career with Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection included roles in Sydney and in Parliament House, Canberra, and postings as a diplomat to Shanghai, Beijing and Suva. He has also served in the Australian Army’s Signals and then Transport corps as a non-commissioned and commissioned officer respectively. He speaks Mandarin and his China research has been published in a number of peer reviewed journals.

Peter Fry is author of the novel Ladder to the Moon. His career as a New Zealand Army officer included periods of service in New Zealand and SE Asia in both regimental and staff appointments, as a military observer seconded to the UN in the Middle East, and as New Zealand Defence Attaché to Indonesia and the Philippines. Following retirement, he joined the UN where he served deployments as a Security Adviser to Iraq, East Timor, the NW Pacific, Somalia, Pakistan and UN Headquarters in New York.

Alexander Gillespie is professor of law at Waikato University’s law faculty. He has published 16 books, including The Causes of War: 1000-1600 (Volume 2). He was the first New Zealander to be named Rapporteur for the World Heritage Convention, he has advised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Conservation on legal and policy matters, and provides commissioned work for the UN, Commonwealth Secretariat, and organisations in New Zealand, Australia, US, UK and Switzerland.

Dr Peter Greener is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University Wellington. He is an Honorary Professor, and was previously Academic Dean at the Command and Staff College of the New Zealand Defence Force. Dr Greener is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at AUT University, where he was Head of the School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies 2003–2007, and Head of the Department of Psychotherapy and Applied Psychology from 1998–2003.

Graham Grose is Vice President and Industry Director Aviation & Defence at IFS, a leading vendor of enterprise asset management (EAM) software to the Aerospace and Defence sector globally. He is a supply chain specialist and a former RAF Supply Officer.

Dr Marc Lanteigne is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University, Auckland, specialising in the foreign and domestic politics of China, and international relations and security in Oceania and the Polar regions. He has published extensively in his fields of interest and written three books including China’s Foreign Policy: An Introduction and China and International Institutions: Alternate Paths to Global Power

Hon Dr Wayne Mapp QSO was New Zealand’s Minister of Defence and Minister of Science and Innovation from 2008 to 2011. He served as the MP for the North Shore electorate from the 1996 elections until his retirement in late 2011, and was appointed to the New Zealand Law Commission in 2012. As minister, Dr Mapp launched the 2010 Defence White Paper, and was a member of the Advisory Panel for the 2016 White Paper. Before entering politics, he lectured in commercial law at University of Auckland.

Dr Anna Powles is a Senior Lecturer at Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies and founding member of the Security, Politics and Development Network. Her research expertise is in geopolitics, conflict and security in the Pacific region; regional peacekeeping, private military and security companies, civil-military relations, and women, peace and security.

Dr Damien Rogers is a Senior Lecturer at Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies. He is author of Postinternationalism and Small Arms Control: Theory, Politics, Security (New York: Routledge, 2016). His next book, Law, Politics and the Limits of Prosecuting Mass Atrocity, will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018. Prior to academia he served in intelligence roles in various New Zealand government ministries, including the GCSB, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Primary Industries and Immigration New Zealand.

LTCOL Richard Taylor, PhD, is Commandant, NZDF Command and Staff College. He has previously served as Operations Officer Operation BEL ISI II (Bougainville), Commanding Officer of the Military Studies Institute, AND Defence Adviser to Papua New Guinea. Prior to his current appointment, he was seconded to Headquarters Papua New Guinea Defence Force as Deputy Chief of Staff.

Dr Chris Wilson is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, having held a number of roles in conflict analysis and prevention with the World Bank, UNDP and other international agencies.  His research and teaching is focused on violent conflict and terrorism. He is coordinator of the Master of Conflict and Terrorism Studies.