Call to back jobs agenda

TOWNSVILLE Enterprise is calling on all major political parties to endorse its job- creating initiative.

The region’s peak industry lobby group has spent the past 12 months developing the blueprint for their comprehensive North Queensland Defence Industry Development Agenda with support from Townsville City Council, not- forprofit organisations and Townsville military identities.

The detailed plan has been seen by representatives from Labor, LNP and One Nation.

TEL director of policy and investment Michael McMillan confirmed he travelled last month with the Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland Coralee O’Rourke to South Australia to investigate the DefenceSA model.

DefenceSA is the nation’s only stand- alone state defence organisation.

Mr McMillan said the visit affirmed TEL’s intention to introduce a chaired statutory advisory body to advocate new and long- term employment opportunities for ex- serving personnel, which could then benefit the wider North community.

“We have the largest military presence in Australia and we are at the coalface of veteran issues,” Mr McMillan said.

“With an election looming, we don’t want this to be another policy lost as part of a political campaign as this agenda is too important considering the presence that is defence in our community.”

Mr McMillan said he saw the State and Federal governments’ roles in supporting TEL’s agenda as pursuing defence contracts and procurement such as maintenance opportunities and committing to the decentralisation of agency resources from Brisbane to Townsville.

“We have 500 military personnel who transition out of the ADF each year, so the challenge is what do we do in our economy to create 500 jobs for meaningful work,” he said.

Townsville City Council Mayor Jenny Hill said under the previous LNP government much of the Defence- related policies had been driven out of Brisbane.

“That has to change,” she said. “We need to ensure that if Defence gives new contracts, it is done in North Queensland by North Queenslanders.”

Former 3rd Brigade Commander and three- star general Lieutenant General John Caligari, chair of Operation Compass, said the TEL program needed to be adopted.

“We have people ( veterans) who know what Defence wants and how to create it.

“These are the people who are leaving the army and settling in Townsville.”

Mr Caligari said providing jobs for veterans would also help reduce suicide levels which in some sectors of Defence were 3.5 times the national average.