Council builds case for stronger defence future

Published on 14 April 2015

Rockhampton Regional Council is keen to take advantage of the Region’s long-term strong links with the military to increase Defence activity in the Region.

Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow said, “The Shoalwater Bay Training Area had provided the Region with a strong connection to the Australian Defence Force (ADF)."

Council at its meeting today decided to move forward with this strategy.

“Our challenge has been to become aware of the factors which drive the military to make the decisions they do.  To fill this void, we have been  working closely with former ADF officer and military advocate, Graeme Mickelberg.

“The Region already boosts substantial military infrastructure with the nearby Shoalwater Bay Training Area, our airports’ capability to service planes and helicopters, Western Street Army Depot, Port Alma and the capacity for explosive storage at Bajool, combined with the skills we already have in our community repairing military and mining equipment. Together they paint a persuasive picture on which the ADF can easily build,” Cr Strelow said.

“We have developed some strong political connections with the Federal Government on which we can build our case for a more permanent military presence in the Region,” she said. 

“We need to add to this the support of the Rockhampton Region politicians, Bill Byrne, Brittany Lauga and Jim Pearce from the Queensland Parliament and Michelle Landry, Ken O’Dowd and Senator Matt Canavan from the Federal Parliament.” 

Council is due to meet with Senator Canavan and Ms Landry on Thursday to follow up previous discussions and brief them on Council’s Defence aspirations.