Townsville poised to further enhance Defence credentials
Today’s Townsville Defence Forum highlighted the strategic position the region plays in the national Defence landscape.
Attendees heard from John Coyne, Head of Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre and representative on Townsville Enterprise’s North Queensland Strategic Defence Working Group addressing Townsville’s role in the strategic challenges in the Pacific.
Our own Claudia Brumme-Smith also joined panellists John Caligari (Chair of the Board of Directors, Oasis Townsville), Mick Ferguson (Defence Engagement Lead, Townsville City Council) to discuss defence family support and community integration.
Industry leaders are pointing to the region as the most logical location for heavy armoured vehicles maintenance.
The heightened focus on Townsville’s defence position comes following the Strategic Defence Review delivered in April this year, which saw Townsville North Queensland set to become Australia’s designated ‘Army Capital,’ home to the Australian Defence Forces’ only lethal combat brigade and associated infrastructure. The Defence Strategic Review, authored by Professor Peter Dean and announced at a Townsville Enterprise event earlier this year, sets the agenda for ambitious, but necessary, reform to Defence's posture and structure and to ensure that the region fully capitalises on the opportunities outlined in the Review and addresses the challenges associated with the Defence uplift in North Queensland.
From this review, the Australian Government have committed major investments into Australia’s defence capabilities, which will see a new fleet acquisition of consisting of M1A2 SEPv3 tanks, Redback infantry fighting vehicles, Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles and K9 self-propelled howitzers, being Australian Army’s greatest replacement effort in two generations. Except for a few training platforms, every armoured vehicle in the Australian Army will be allocated to the 3rd Brigade, based in Townsville, making it the most potent fighting formation in the region.
Acknowledging the critical role Townsville already plays in Australian defence, further calls now point to double-down on this strength, and ensure the ongoing maintenance of this fleet stays in North Queensland. In an article published by APSI, author Chris McDougall described Townsville’s role in the maintenance of the new 300-strong heavy vehicle fleet as simple logistics – outlining the advantages and existing capacity to establish and operate maintenance, engineering and logistics support facilities in the North.
Northern Queensland has the facilities and expertise for this. Dean Deighton of Australian Industry Group notes that the region has the capacity and capability to establish and operate maintenance, engineering and logistics support facilities, and that doing the work there is highly likely to be least expensive. The region already supports heavy vehicles of many makes in the resources industry, particularly in the cities of Mackay, Townsville and more recently Cairns. Widening its scope to include the army’s new vehicles would leverage these existing skills and bring welcome investment – Chris McDougall.
North Queensland Strategic Defence Working Group
To coordinate opportunities and collectively resolve regional challenges through this growth phase in Townsville’s defence chapter, Townsville Enterprise established the North Queensland Strategic Defence Working Group, which is guided by industry leaders from diverse sectors both within and external to Defence.
Also identified in the Defence Strategic Review, is the Australian Government’s announcement of an additional 500 personnel moving to Townsville in 2025. In order to deliver Townsville’s strategic importance to the Australian Army, key actions currently being worked through under the Working Group aim to develop and retain a highly skilled workforce in north Queensland through education, as well as supporting factors such as house and community facilities to attract and retain workers.
The additional investment coming to our region from Defence represents an incredible economic opportunity for us. To ensure this region can capitalise on this opportunity, we are working collectively to find solutions to our housing challenges, but also working with industry partners to elevate our position through liveability awareness and identifying opportunities for defence families to integrate with the North Queensland lifestyle.
We know we will need for additional expertise in engineering, aviation maintenance, research in advanced technologies and industry support for sovereign manufacturing industries will require a long-term strategic approach from our region and we are squarely focused on these actions through Working Group and our broader Townsville Enterprise regional advocacy. – Claudia Brumme-Smith
READ MORE FROM THE STRATEGIC DEFENCE REVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT (April 2024)
