A submission to the Defence Strategic Review produced by various local government and regional development authorities has made a case for greater Defence investment in Central Queensland – an area which encompasses the Gladstone Port, Rockhampton Airport, and the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
The submission was commissioned by Regional Development Australia - Central and Western Queensland in partnership with Rockhampton and Gladstone Regional councils and Livingstone Shire Council, with advice from Brigadier (Ret’d) Michael Prictor.
While the Defence Strategic Review is likely to contain a recommendation for hardening Australia’s northern bases, the submission highlights the strategic advantage that additional Defence assets in Central Queensland could provide due to its positioning outside the range of likely adversary long-range weapon systems, whilst offering significantly reduced transit times to the most likely contested waters of the region.
“One of the driving factors for the Defence Strategic Review was our changed strategic circumstances,” Brigadier (Ret’d) 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 offers a location that is further away from some of Australia’s northern-most bases. So, if the threat is in the South China Sea or that area – missile threats, long-range air threats – Darwin is close, Townsville is a little further away, Central Queensland is a little further away again. It gives a little bit of depth in strategic defence.”
Further to this geographic advantage are the already established facilities throughout the region which could quickly be leveraged to improve ADF preparedness.
The Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Livingstone Shire is the largest training area in Australia, covering almost 500,000 hectares of land. The facility hosts large, complex operations across land, air and sea, including the biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre.
SWBTA is already undergoing a $2 billion expansion as part of Australia’s relationship with the Singapore Armed Forces, but Andy Ireland, Mayor of Livingstone Shire Council, says it has more to offer still – starting with the potential for a maintenance facility, with a view to eventually establishing a more permanent base for land forces.
“SWBTA is, in my view, the premier military training area in the world because it allows training of air, land, and naval forces – and what we’d like to see is the construction of a maintenance facility there.
“At the moment, when exercises happen, the Army for example gets deployed out of Enoggera Army base in Brisbane, and every time they travel up and down the highway, it costs approximately $6 million.
“Why wouldn’t you have a more established permanent presence at Shoalwater Bay rather than having to deploy out of Brisbane every time you run an exercise?”
Central Queensland’s two ports – Gladstone Port and Port Alma – could also offer enhanced maritime support for Defence operations.
“Gladstone Port offers excellent maritime access,” Mayor Matt Burnett of Gladstone Regional Council told ADM. “It’s a deep-water port, with dual shipping lanes, and is the only port between Brisbane and Darwin currently certified by the inter-departmental Visiting Ships Panel (Nuclear) to host nuclear powered surface ships.”
Port Alma, only 40 kilometres to the north of Gladstone Port, is the principal designated port for handling large quantities of Class 1 explosives on the east coast of Australia. Also in proximity is Bajool Reserve, where munitions can safety be stored and distributed. These facilities combined with the region’s long-standing expertise in sovereign munitions production mean Gladstone could serve as an optimal resupply point for naval vessels needing to quickly return to a potential contingency.
The submission also identified Rockhampton Airport as an ideal location for accommodating existing and future manned and unmanned aircraft, providing a unique location for maritime surveillance of northern and eastern approaches to Australia.
“Rockhampton Airport has a 2,628-metre long runway and can host our largest military aircraft along with B-737s and A320 Airbus aircraft,” Rockhampton Regional Council Mayor Tony Williams said to ADM. “It also has the capacity to be upgraded, making it a prime and versatile option to support and deepen capacity for joint maritime operations.”
He also highlighted the opportunity for Defence to leverage the aviation deep maintenance facilities currently being developed at Rockhampton by Alliance Airlines, an Authorised Maintenance Organisation.
An expanded version of this article will appear in the April edition of Australian Defence Magazine.