North Queensland's Defence capabilities submitted for investment review
Today, Townsville Enterprise CEO, Claudia Brumme-Smith met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Hon Richard Marles MP to share the submission and the region’s Defence potential with enabling investment opportunities.
The North Queensland Defence capabilities and future potential submission will inform the Federal Government’s Smith and Houston Defence Strategic Review.
In August, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence announced the independently led review to better understand where investment should be prioritised.
“North Queensland is uniquely positioned on the doorstep of the Southwest Pacific as a natural gateway for engagement, training, and possible military operations,” Mrs Brumme-Smith said.
“Townsville North Queensland together with Cairns, support a comprehensive range of capability including air, land and maritime bases, advanced training ranges, port, logistics and industry necessary for mobilisation, preparation, projection and sustainment of Australian or coalition forces.”
“The Federal Government announced a significant increase in Defence spend in the budget as well as the $32M commitment to our NQ Sparks project and we look forward to future investment announcements following this Defence review early next year.”
Townsville City Council Mayor, Jenny Hill said the region’s industry base and capability should not be taken for granted.
“To maintain its strength, we need targeted Defence investment focussed on building a resilient, sovereign supply chain. This will enable North Queensland to rapidly scale-up or down to meet Defence Force demands to 2033 and beyond,” Cr Hill said.
