Page 38 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2023

38 DEFENCE BUSINESS CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
APRIL 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND PITCHES GREATER DEFENCE PRESENCE
A submission to the Defence Strategic Review produced by various local government and regional development authorities has made a compelling case for greater Defence investment in Central Queensland – an area which encompasses the Gladstone Port, Rockhampton Airport, and the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
ROYA GHODSI | SYDNEY
THE submission was commissioned by Regional Development Australia - Central and Western Queensland in partner- ship with Rockhampton and Gladstone Regional councils and Livingstone Shire Council, with advice from Brigadier (Ret’d) Michael Prictor.
“The Defence Strategic Review is expected to contain a recommendation to harden Australia’s northern bases,” Grant Cassidy, Chair of Regional Development Australia – Central and Western Queensland told ADM. “But we know that increasing our nation’s resilience to attack requires strategic depth. We think Central Queensland can provide this strategic depth and help Defence achieve major capa- bility advantages with minimal investments.”
The submission highlights the strategic advantage that ad- ditional Defence assets in Central Queensland could provide
due to its positioning outside the range of likely adversary long-range weapon systems – specifically China’s common major long range strike systems – whilst offering reduced transit times to the most likely contested waters of the region.
“One of the driving factors for the Defence Strategic Re- view was our changed strategic circumstances,” Michael Prictor told ADM. “For 30 odd years we’ve been largely without a defined threat, but now we’ve got a burgeoning regional superpower in China, and a revanchist Russia.
“From a strategic perspective, Central Queensland of- fers a location that is further away from some of Austra-
BELOW: Amphibious assault vehicles from the USMC, ADF and JSDF simulating a combined assault operation in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area
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