INTERNATIONAL defence forces including America and Singapore might benefit from upgrades to the Flinders and the Barkly Highway and funding to northern Australian airports attached to federal government funding.
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Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss acknowledged funding addressed in the White Paper on Developing Northern Australia would help the nation’s defence, although he did not go as far as to link it with findings in the soon-to-be released Defence White Paper.
New upgrades for Northern Australia include a $600-million roads package, including the Hann Highway, and a $40 million airstrip package in remote Australia.
“We have got countries like the US and Singapore interested in using some of our facilities in the north so they are likely to be strategically more important than ever and, therefore, the infrastructure benefits those activities,” Mr Truss said.
A further long-term plan for the nation’s Defence Forces and the location of assets would be addressed in the Defence White Paper.
“Defence uses the road systems in particular, they use airports, they don’t use trains so much anymore now, but the defence of our country is heavily concentrated in the north and is likely to stay so,” Mr Truss said.
Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter believed Mount Isa would be an ideal location for a battalion and a drone base because of its inland position from the Gulf of Carpentaria, and because of its central position between Darwin and Townsville.
“It takes time to get an army from Darwin to Townsville or to the Gulf, time you don’t have,” Mr Katter said.
“There could be an eight or nine hours’ difference between establishing a bridgehead (strategic ground near water crossing) and not establishing a bridgehead.”
Mount Isa does have a Regional Force Surveillance Unit depot for Delta Company, which is part of the 51st Battalion and monitors the Gulf.
Mr Katter believed it unlikely the Defence White Paper would address Mount Isa as a strategic point for a battalion, but he would “aggressively” push for some centralisation of northern forces.
“The mine won’t last. This gives the town a future forever.
“Alice Springs is too far south and not handy to the Gulf.”
The Defence Department anticipates the white paper will align defence and military strategies, but also create an affordable force structure review.
“It will outline the tasks the Government expects of Defence and how these can be achieved with the resources available,” the Department said.
“The Force Structure Review will access Defence’s future capability needs and propose a force structure that addresses Australia’s defence objectives within an agreed allocation of funding.”