Arabic version: وسط كوينزلاند يسعى لاستثمارات في البنية التحتية الدفاعية
According to ABC News, central Queensland politicians are preparing to take a business case to Canberra seeking greater investment in defence infrastructure. Meetings with the federal government are slated for September, and the process is expected to take years. The region is promoting assets including the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, located 80 kilometres north of Rockhampton and spanning more than 450,000 hectares of dense bushland and sea.
The proposal includes a defence-logistics hub for machinery repair and maintenance, a medical training centre intended to boost local health professionals, and a submarine-support facility in Gladstone. It also calls for additional short-term accommodation that could serve as an athlete’s village for the 2032 Olympic rowing, while housing defence personnel and medical specialists. Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said a stronger military and defence presence could diversify the local economy and help buffer the workforce.
Shoalwater Bay hosted 3,000 army personnel this month for Exercise Pozieres Run, described as the army’s largest collective training operation of the year. Participants practised combat skills in a simulated battlefield involving enemy forces, civilians and a mock television crew, while living in bush conditions on ration packs without beds or showers. The Boxer Block II Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle also underwent its most significant field test to date there. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Johnson said the vehicle represented a step change in capability, citing its mobility, communications and ability to be difficult for an enemy to detect.
The Commonwealth acquired the land for the Shoalwater Bay facility in 1965, when it was used to prepare soldiers for jungle fighting in Vietnam. Defence community researcher Amy Johnson said central Queensland’s military history, logistics and industry, including Rocky Airport and the Port of Gladstone, positioned it to expand its defence sector. However, ANU National Security College senior policy adviser David Andrews said labour shortages and costs could challenge new projects. The Department of Defence said infrastructure in northern Australia was essential to Australia’s capabilities and pointed to opportunities for local industry in logistics, maintenance, administration and transport support.
