Page 38 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2022

38 DEFENCE BUSINESS NORTHERN AUSTRALIA DEFENCE SUMMIT
JUNE 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
upbeat address in which he also referred to Darwin becom- ing the data capital of the region, with three companies all separately building subsea fibre links between Darwin and Asia and work on a $80 million data centre about to begin.
NORTHERN INFRASTRUCTURE
More detail of the burgeoning defence investment in the North came from Colonel Matt Quinn, Director North of Defence’s Capital Facilities and Infrastructure Security and Estate Group.
The figures also did not include the $1.5 billion included in the March budget to build new port infrastructure which could possibly replace the US military’s main refuelling sta- tion in the Pacific region following the closure of a major storage facility at Pearl Harbour.
STRATEGIC COMMENT
US Marine Corps Colonel (Ret.) Grant Newsham of the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies offered some robust comment on China’s activities in the Indo-Pacific region, asking what Beijing
Projects awaiting final approval in
northern West Australia totalled $766
million, approved Northern Terri-
tory projects totalled $2.73 billion and
other work there awaiting final signoff
amounted to $812 million. The Northern
Queensland forward works program in-
cluded $1.07 billion approved and $275
million awaiting 2nd pass. The largest single amount of $1.11 billion, scheduled over seven years out to 2027-28, was redevelopment and US Force Posture Initiatives at RAAF Tindal, with an additional $146 million awaiting ap- proval for infrastructure there to support the MQ-4C Tri- ton maritime surveillance drones due in 2024.
These figures do not include the $270 million fuel stor- age facility in Darwin being funded by the US to support US defence operations in the region. This new 300-megali- tre facility will be owned and operated by Florida company Crowley Government Services.
would least like to see.
“They don’t like people to push back, they
don’t like seeing training taking place, and they don’t like it to be for the kind of fight that would take place in the region; they’d rather have showpiece exercises,” he stated.
“They’re good at influence operations but they really don’t like it when other countries do it to them....and this is where northern Australia has a role to
play and there are two parts to this.
“The first is influencing inwards, bringing partners and
friends to Darwin to train and exercise. But even better, I’d like to see Darwin as more than just a training area, but rather a location from which you can influence up into
ABOVE: Delegates use the break time to network during the summit
“DEFENCE SPENDING IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY REACHED $2.2 BILLION LAST FINANCIAL YEAR”
ROYA GHODSI