Mrs FINOCCHIARO - 2015-03-25
Defence members and their families are an important part of the Palmerston community. I want to see Defence continue to strengthen its presence in the Top End. Can you please outline what the government is doing to secure a larger slice of Defence spending and establish itself as a Defence hub for the region?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. As a good Top End, Palmerston member of parliament, she is highly supportive of the role Defence forces play in the Northern Territory. It was great to see the Operation Slipper parade last Saturday and the community engagement at the Cenotaph thereafter.
Defence spending in the Northern Territory, from an economic point of view, is about $1.5bn per annum, contributing about 7% of GDP. There are approximately 6000 personnel in the Defence Force in the Territory. When you combine that with families it is about 14 000 people, so it is a large slice of our population of 245 000 people in the Northern Territory.
There has been an expansion of opportunities in Defence forces in the Territory, especially due to the change in dynamics with aircraft, for example, with Joint Strike Fighter, which will be based at Tindal, and the relationship with the US Marine Corps now rotating through the Territory. There are some 1100 Marines this year and there will be 2500 in a couple of years’ time.
Defence in Canberra often looks at spending money here, but for too long the Defence money did not go to Territory companies. We have sought to replicate the model in South Australia where they have Defence SA, a lobbying body seeking to get Defence contracts to South Australia. We have now set up a Strategic Defence Advisory Board in the Northern Territory; we announced that today and the first meeting will be held tomorrow.
I am happy to announce three members of the board: retired Major General Tim McOwan, who was the former Defence attach for the Australian Defence Force in Washington; Ms Carmel McGregor, who was the head of Defence People in Canberra; and former Air Marshal Eris Herryanto, who was the Indonesian Secretary General of the Ministry of Defence. All three have retired and have willingly and gleefully taken on the role of supporting us in our advisory board.
The advisory board’s role is to assist the Northern Territory government to develop its strategic direction for Defence. It is also to support us from a lobbying point of view to let Canberra and other forces, namely the US, know we have the capability in the Territory to fulfil those contracts. We are looking for a greater level of involvement; we want to see expended capacity not just at RAAF Tindal, in the married quarters or at the roll-on roll-off barge landing, but in a range of investment opportunities.
Already $600m has been announced, with $474m to Tindal. We believe there are billions of dollars coming into the future. We want to ensure at the backend of INPEX that our economy is strong and jobs are there for Territorians and supporting families, especially Defence families.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. As a good Top End, Palmerston member of parliament, she is highly supportive of the role Defence forces play in the Northern Territory. It was great to see the Operation Slipper parade last Saturday and the community engagement at the Cenotaph thereafter.
Defence spending in the Northern Territory, from an economic point of view, is about $1.5bn per annum, contributing about 7% of GDP. There are approximately 6000 personnel in the Defence Force in the Territory. When you combine that with families it is about 14 000 people, so it is a large slice of our population of 245 000 people in the Northern Territory.
There has been an expansion of opportunities in Defence forces in the Territory, especially due to the change in dynamics with aircraft, for example, with Joint Strike Fighter, which will be based at Tindal, and the relationship with the US Marine Corps now rotating through the Territory. There are some 1100 Marines this year and there will be 2500 in a couple of years’ time.
Defence in Canberra often looks at spending money here, but for too long the Defence money did not go to Territory companies. We have sought to replicate the model in South Australia where they have Defence SA, a lobbying body seeking to get Defence contracts to South Australia. We have now set up a Strategic Defence Advisory Board in the Northern Territory; we announced that today and the first meeting will be held tomorrow.
I am happy to announce three members of the board: retired Major General Tim McOwan, who was the former Defence attach for the Australian Defence Force in Washington; Ms Carmel McGregor, who was the head of Defence People in Canberra; and former Air Marshal Eris Herryanto, who was the Indonesian Secretary General of the Ministry of Defence. All three have retired and have willingly and gleefully taken on the role of supporting us in our advisory board.
The advisory board’s role is to assist the Northern Territory government to develop its strategic direction for Defence. It is also to support us from a lobbying point of view to let Canberra and other forces, namely the US, know we have the capability in the Territory to fulfil those contracts. We are looking for a greater level of involvement; we want to see expended capacity not just at RAAF Tindal, in the married quarters or at the roll-on roll-off barge landing, but in a range of investment opportunities.
Already $600m has been announced, with $474m to Tindal. We believe there are billions of dollars coming into the future. We want to ensure at the backend of INPEX that our economy is strong and jobs are there for Territorians and supporting families, especially Defence families.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016