Hopes high for Defence jobs boost
QUEENSLAND is one step closer to securing one of the biggest spending Defence projects in Australian history and hundreds of jobs.
Rheinmetall Defence Australia will today reveal it will base its operations in Queensland if it wins the Defence Department’s $5 billion contract to build the next generation of war machines.
In a major snub to the Victorian Government, which was desperately trying to woo Rheinmetall, the German company has chosen Queensland to build 225 state-of-the-art combat reconnaissance vehicles.
BAE Systems Australia, which is also vying for the Defence deal, is believed to lean towards Victoria.
It is understood Rheinmetall was swayed by the State Government’s lucrative offer to build in Queensland, being near army and air force bases, the state’s manufacturing supply chain and the unprecedented support from 26 federal Coalition politicians.
At least 450 direct jobs will be created and potentially thousands of indirect jobs throughout Queensland.