Page 58 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

58 DEFENCE BUSINESS VIEW FROM CANBERRA
JULY-AUGUST 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
VIEW FROM CANBERRA
Budget observers may have noted that the government’s only significant announcement on budget night May 11 – beyond the ever increasing fiscal largesse which everyone expected anyway – related to $66.1 million to upgrade the runway at RAAF Williamtown.
A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | CANBERRA
THEN there was reference to earlier announcements - $155 million in infrastructure works at HMAS Cairns and $747 million to upgrade four training areas and ranges in the Northern Territory.
This correspondent has lost count of how many times major infrastructure works to NT training areas have been announced. The first time may well have been in 2011 when former PM Julia Gillard and former US president Barack Obama revealed plans for 2500 Marines to train in the top end. The need for better facilities was further elaborated in the 2016 Defence
White Paper and these have been progressively occurring. For governments keen to be seen doing stuff, defence in- frastructure is the gift that keeps on giving. There’s always a new contract, a new milestone, a new something which can
be announced or re-announced, seemingly forever. Example: In the budget lead-up on May 6, the government announced that Central Queensland was benefiting from more than $53 million in additional contracts awarded as
part of upgrades to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area. Defence established this 4500 square kilometre facility in 1965 and it’s now one of its premium training areas for am-
phibious operations and live fire.
As well as the ADF and US military, the other big user of
SWBTA are the Singapore Armed Forces, starting in 1990. The obvious reason is that we have the space and they don’t and Singapore, a close ally, plans to invest more than $2 billion in SWBTA and at a brand new training area at
Greenvale, north of Townsville.
All this is surely great for local construction companies
which have been lavished with contracts.
Not always so clear is precisely what’s being done. The ob-
vious stuff is better roads and bridges to handle increased heavy vehicle traffic.
The most useful source of information about defence in- frastructure upgrades would appear to be the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works.
This was founded in 1913, making it one of the federal parlia- ment’s oldest investigative committees, with a brief to examine Commonwealth works projects worth more than $15 million.
This isn’t solely an exercise in rubber stamping – on occa- sion the committee has told supplicants to get real, go away and come back with a better proposal.
Right now the committee is examining proposed upgrades
to Robertson Barracks Close Training Area, Kangaroo Flats Training Area, Mount Bundey Training Area and Bradshaw Field Training Area under the US Force Posture Initiative. That’s of course US Marine training in the NT.
This was only referred on May 12 and the committee hasn’t yet reported. However Defence’s submission on the scope of the works is available, spelling out the inadequate state of existing facilities and why they need to be better.
“The proposed new weapons ranges, at the core of the Project, will be effective in delivering the required train- ing outcomes and more able to meet future needs, and will include a new generation of targetry systems that are more capable and flexible than existing systems,” it says.
That includes multiple new ranges, new urban operations training facilities, helicopter landing sites and refuel points, range control, accommodation, admin, dining, medical plus improved communications power, water and so on. At Brad- shaw the Nackeroo Airfield runway will be extended with con- struction of hardstanding suitable for C-17 and MV-22 aircraft.
Many of the new ranges supersede older facilities which will require decommissioning and remediation.
As a responsible civic citizen Defence has plans for protec- tion of native animals and plants, as well as indigenous and historic sites.
So this doesn’t amount to just a few buildings and some earthworks and the stated cost is $747 million, with work starting later this year and finishing in 2026.
Defence thoughtfully provided the committee with map of the NT, outlining location of the training areas, plus some nice architect sketches of buildings in pastel hues in a pleas- ing bushland setting.
Absent were detailed site plans of the type which previ- ously accompanied some PWC reports on defence projects.
Back in 1992, the committee released its report on cre- ation of RAAF Scherger, a bare base on Cape York, complete with detailed maps of runways and taxiways, hardened air- craft shelters, ordnance prep areas, fuel storage, accommo- dation and messing and security fencing.
Knowing what we know now of the interests of a certain northern neighbour, it’s understandable why such fine de- tails are no longer disclosed. ■
ABOVE: Soldiers from the 104th Battery of the 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, fire an M777 155mm howitzer at Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
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