The major newspapers, radio and television stations in New Zealand have done little to challenge the activities of the New Zealand Defence Force. In most instances, they have acted as enthusiastic cheerleaders for the military, regurgitating Defence Force press releases verbatim or showcasing soldiers doing good deeds. The media seldom question the underlying assumptions about the military deployments to Afghanistan, Timor-Leste or the Solomon Islands.

Bias in the media is nothing new. Those who are waging the 'war on terrorism' have benefited from the strengthened role of the press to shape opinions and reinforce societal norms. Media have become a stronger force in society because of the concentration of ownership. Diversity in opinions is reduced, and the owners of the media decide whose voices are heard. With one exception, two multinational corporations own all major daily newspapers in the country: Fairfax and Wilson and Horton.

To stop militarism and war, we must deconstruct the language that allows warmakers to call civilian deaths 'collateral damage' and to label bombs 'peacemakers'. In New Zealand this is particularly true. The NZDF has been re-branded as a 'humanitarian organisation' with stunning success by the Labour government. No longer are New Zealand soldiers engaged in fighting wars, instead, they are sent to do 'peacekeeping' and 'reconstruction' to ensure 'security'. There have been no challenges to this role; no examination by our media of the agenda being served by this re-branding exercise.

There is strong anti-war and anti-military sentiment among the political left in New Zealand. Therefore, in order that a Labour government can send the military to serve in foreign wars of conquest, they must be sold to the majority of the public as humanitarian endeavours, rather than as military invasions. Moreover, these missions are crafted as a mixture of military force and development aid. The logic being that 'security' must come first before 'aid' can be administered. Thus, many of the people who might traditionally questioned these military invasions have been thoroughly co-opted into endorsing them, as for example, in the Solomon Islands. But question them we must.

An brief examination of the headlines of the country's two major newspapers relating to the deployment of the NZDF 'provincial reconstruction teams' to Afghanistan is illuminating. The PRT is a 100-soldier strong unit that is in Afghanistan to extend the power of the central government in Kabul to the provinces. In the Dominion Post and the New Zealand Herald, it has been described in the following terms:

• "PM orders boost for risky Iraq, Afghan missions" (New Zealand Herald 10 June 2003)
• "160 Kiwi troops off to hot spots" (Dominion Post 10 June 2003)
• "US signals thaw in praise of NZ troop offer." (Dominion Post 11 June 2003)
• "NZ comes in from the cold" (Dominion Post 11 June 2003)
• "Defence: military group of 100 will help rebuild the postwar nation." (New Zealand Herald 8 July 2003)
• "Kiwis get a vote of confidence" (Dominion Post 14 July 2004)
• "Offer hope from the ruins of war" (New Zealand Herald 24 July 2004)
• "Cold days and warm smiles" (New Zealand Herald 21 February 2005)
• "Just what the doctors ordered" (Dominion Post 30 June 2005)
• "Forgotten heroes" (New Zealand Herald 5 August 2006)

These soldiers are portrayed just as the NZDF wants: a helpful, altruistic and even neutral force. None of these reports, or indeed any reports of the PRTs, have been initiated independently of a NZDF press release. There are no New Zealand journalists on the ground in Afghanistan. The NZDF have total control to construct everything we know about this mission. They have succeeded; the media are only too happy to 'report' on the military without raising any questions about the economic agenda of the war on terrorism which prompted New Zealand's involvement there in the first place.

We need to appreciate that the media are only to happy feed us the propaganda of the government which they rely on day in and day out for 'news'. For that propaganda fills their pages with feel good stories and assists them with their own self-serving agendas of making money and expanding their audiences.

Let us not forget, the first casualty of war is the truth.