Katherine Ziesing | Darwin
It was clear from the wide range of presentations at ADM’s summit that Defence in the North is more than just training ranges and US Marines.
Giving an overview of what the Top End has to offer aside from the traditional industries usually associated with the NT, Luke Bowen general manager of Northern Australia Development and Trade spoke of the enhancements in the region in terms of infrastructure alone. Indonesia has outlined spending plans of $1 trillion on infrastructure including rail and port links.
Industry speakers like Allan Schmidt of Sitzler and Brett Sangster of Downer outlined the challenges (remote logistics and workforce planning) and opportunities (scale and spending) of working in the NT. Both pointed out that while fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) has its place, it doesn’t build local capacity for future work.
"Industry speakers ... outlined the challenges and opportunities of working in the NT."
Brigadier Tim Bayliss, Director General of the US Force Posture Initiative gave the 200-strong audience an update on what the US Marines are up to in the wake of the $2 billion 25-year funding agreement signed between the US and Australia. And once again Clayton Utz’s Marko Misko made Defence contracting make sense by providing his analysis on what the new models mean for businesses big and small.
Former head of DMO’s Maritime Division Rear Admiral (Retd) Mark Purcell has joined the new Northern Territory Government Strategic Defence Advisory Board, a construct of the new Gunnar Government. Chief Minister Michael Gunnar reiterated the Government’s support for Defence and defence industry at the welcoming drinks for the event.
RADM Purcell said the NT Government is examining its options when it comes to supporting the local shipbuilding industry, as patrol boat maintenance (for both Cape and Armidale classes) is unlikely to move substantially from Darwin any time soon. ADM also understands that Thales has been selected as the new maintainer for the Armidale class patrol boats, taking over from Serco in early 2017 with complete transition by midyear.
Once again, ADM’s Defence in the North Summit is one of the few opportunities taken by the Commander of Operation Sovereign Border Major General Andrew Bottrell to speak about the work done by his team.
“Informing people is about 50 per cent of what we do these days,” MAJGEN Bottrell explained to the delegates. “If we stop communicating, then people smugglers fill that void.”
Note: ADM would like to thank the summit sponsors Sitzler, Dower, Laing O’Rourke, Broadspectrum, BMD, NACP Projects, Clayton Utz, Sparke Helmore and the NT Government.