Defence plan good for city

SCOTT Morrison’s plan to inject $270 billion into defence could have some major upsides for the Townsville region.

Townsville is already the location of the largest military base in the country.

Lavarack Barracks is home to more than 6000 personnel with the base also home to the army’s only amphibious unit, 2 RAR.

Along with RAAF Base Townsville and many exercises and training that involve Pacific Nations here, defence is a huge and stable part of our economy.

The interesting part in the Government’s change in defence spending, about an extra $70 billion, is talk of a new base.

The mooted base, according to the government documents, is about army watercraft being based in Northern Australia.

“Defence will seek to establish a new base in Northern Australia to consolidate all army watercraft, enhancing amphibious ship loading capacity, and allowing the docking of patrol vessels and minehunters,” the report said.

In a response to Townsville Bulletin questions yesterday afternoon, defence said they had no intentions of moving the army’s only amphibious unit from Townsville.

That’s a good sign the base may be heading toward Townsville.

There are a few Territorians that may call on the base to be built there but the NT is already slated for many other military upgrades in the document.

The other positive is Townsville has excellent access to the Pacific and plenty of room.

The PM was cautious in his speech, warning Australia faces regional challenges on a scale not seen since World War II.

He said they would also purchase longrange anti-shipping missiles over concerns about conflict with China.

It’s sobering news that the Government is concerned about a POST-COVID-19 world that is “poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly”.