{"id":88476,"date":"2024-08-22T11:25:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T01:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=88476"},"modified":"2024-08-22T11:25:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T01:25:28","slug":"social-licence-is-key-to-building-defence-in-the-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/social-licence-is-key-to-building-defence-in-the-north\/","title":{"rendered":"Social licence is key to building defence in the north"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Defence must improve its social licence in the Northern Territory to operate more effectively and tackle under-utilisation and under-development of local capability.\u00a0The increase in\u00a0military\u00a0investment and activities\u00a0that is underway in the Territory\u00a0provides\u00a0an\u00a0opportunity to\u00a0shift the dial beyond simply generating more work for Territorians\u00a0to building enduring partnerships between Defence and the local community.<\/p>\n

In short, Defence must cooperate more closely\u00a0with the\u00a0north to improve infrastructure and supply chain resilience, as called for in the National Defence\u00a0Strategy.<\/p>\n

While current Defence spending contributes at least 10 percent of the\u00a0territory’s gross product, the economic and social contribution of Defence and national security activities\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0north remain\u00a0under-recognised\u00a0by\u00a0local residents\u00a0and\u00a0operate\u00a0below potential.\u00a0Likewise,\u00a0the capability benefits accrued from greater local integration of defence and security activities are\u00a0being\u00a0lost.<\/p>\n

The $14 billion investment in northern Defence facilities, as outlined in the\u00a0National Defence Strategy,\u00a0presents a significant opportunity\u00a0to\u00a0embed Defence more firmly within northern Australia’s social and economic fabric. In turn, this would\u00a0benefit defence capability, economic growth and social development.<\/p>\n

The more\u00a0Territorians\u00a0see defence forces engaging with local businesses and workers, the more they will recognise Defence as a key part of the northern economy and communities.\u00a0They will also\u00a0welcome collaboration\u00a0with Defence if it\u00a0provides\u00a0infrastructure and services that\u00a0benefit everyone.\u00a0They will be\u00a0more understanding of the inconveniences that can result from defence activity, such as loud aircraft noise and traffic hold-ups behind convoys, and more likely to\u00a0accept\u00a0the trade-offs\u00a0inherent in housing developments\u00a0for defence personnel.<\/p>\n

A partnership approach needs to go well beyond localising\u00a0spending\u00a0on\u00a0defence\u00a0construction projects. Defence capability\u00a0must be built through\u00a0improving\u00a0local industrial capacity\u00a0as well as expanding and upskilling the\u00a0workforce.<\/p>\n

Long-term commitments\u00a0for collaboration must be pledged\u00a0by Defence\u00a0and the governments of\u00a0the Northern Territory, Western\u00a0Australia\u00a0and Queensland. They must establish lasting partnerships that enhance\u00a0local capacity, improve the\u00a0effectiveness of defence industry\u00a0and\u00a0benefit\u00a0local\u00a0organisations\u00a0and businesses.<\/p>\n

There are many\u00a0fields\u00a0in which\u00a0cooperation and collaboration\u00a0could\u00a0deliver sustained benefits.<\/p>\n

To start with, Defence should build logistics bases in the north and employ Territorians, rather than establishing them\u00a0in Victoria, which seems to be the preference.<\/p>\n

Another area for collaboration is building resilient supply chains<\/a>, which would benefit not only Defence capabilities but also local access to more reliable and affordable supermarket supplies.\u00a0The\u00a0north’s\u00a0road and rail\u00a0routes\u00a0are vulnerable to disruption through extreme weather, accidents and pandemics, resulting in\u00a0delays, shortages and\u00a0higher\u00a0costs.\u00a0We need a balanced solution that includes the southern logistics node of Bandiana\u00a0and\u00a0serious assessment of a central node such as Alice Springs (used by a variety of airlines for storage during the Covid-19 pandemic), plus northern nodes\u00a0that utilise available land in Greater Darwin close to\u00a0bases,\u00a0ports,\u00a0airports and multi-user loading facilities.<\/p>\n

Another area for greater collaboration is improving the north\u2019s liveability.\u00a0Defence forces in the north\u00a0suffer\u00a0high rates of transfer requests, resulting in loss of\u00a0skilled personnel.\u00a0Defence members and their families cite difficulties in\u00a0spouse employment\u00a0and\u00a0inadequate\u00a0defence\u00a0housing,\u00a0as well as poor\u00a0access to and quality of education and health and\u00a0family services.\u00a0Some of these issues are improving, but\u00a0others, such as air connectivity and affordability, are getting worse, and\u00a0we must continue to lean in.<\/p>\n

Defence and the north must also collaborate on building accommodation for the workers engaged in the construction of\u00a0military\u00a0facilities.\u00a0Although many will be\u00a0on\u00a0short-term\u00a0contracts, travelling from\u00a0elsewhere in Australia, they still need quality housing. Authorities should reach out to local Darwin companies\u00a0who\u00a0have the means to establish off-grid, fully\u00a0self-contained camps.<\/p>\n

Greater\u00a0engagement\u00a0with\u00a0First Nations people\u00a0is also needed as\u00a0defence capability\u00a0is built\u00a0across the\u00a0north.<\/p>\n

As the tempo of defence activities and multi-nation joint exercises continues\u00a0to increase, so too\u00a0will the need for enhanced medical services. Defence is already investing in day-to-day medical centres to care for Australian and foreign personnel.\u00a0This\u00a0has benefitted\u00a0local healthcare\u00a0through increased availability of defence-contracted medical personnel who want to remain current in community medicine. Investments must continue to be made in\u00a0the\u00a0north\u2019s\u00a0rapid medical evacuation services and critical care facilities.<\/p>\n

There are good reasons why successful approaches to local procurement<\/a>\u00a0need to evolve further. A\u00a0more collaborative approach between Defence and its contractors\u00a0would\u00a0better address the challenges\u00a0in achieving\u00a0on-time and on-budget delivery in the\u00a0north. Defence must establish cooperation\u00a0in the\u00a0early\u00a0stages of\u00a0project design and throughout\u00a0delivery and avoid adversarial relationships that can sometimes\u00a0characterise traditional contracting.<\/p>\n

The economic impact of greater local engagement is highlighted in a 2023 study by the Master Builders Association<\/a>.\u00a0This\u00a0involves\u00a0maintaining and growing the Northern\u00a0Territory\u2019s share of Defence contracts, continuing to improve contract conditions for local firms, and\u00a0training\u00a0more workers\u00a0locally\u00a0and attracting\u00a0them from interstate. There also\u00a0needs to be a strategy to engage Northern\u00a0Territory\u00a0firms in advanced manufacturing of equipment and parts.<\/p>\n

Deeper collaboration with the north would not only strengthen\u00a0Defence\u00a0capability but also improve social licence with\u00a0local\u00a0businesses, communities and defence personnel, which in turn will help\u00a0align\u00a0them in supporting\u00a0a\u00a0stronger,\u00a0more\u00a0sustainable\u00a0Defence\u00a0presence in the\u00a0region\u2014a key direction of the National\u00a0Defence\u00a0Strategy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defence must improve its social licence in the Northern Territory to operate more effectively and tackle under-utilisation and under-development of local capability.\u00a0The increase in\u00a0military\u00a0investment and activities\u00a0that is underway in the Territory\u00a0provides\u00a0an\u00a0opportunity to\u00a0shift the dial beyond …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":88477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1114,1005,3960],"class_list":["post-88476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-defence","tag-northern-australia","tag-northern-territory","dinkus-north-of-26-south"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSocial licence is key to building defence in the north | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/social-licence-is-key-to-building-defence-in-the-north\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Social licence is key to building defence in the north | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Defence must improve its social licence in the Northern Territory to operate more effectively and tackle under-utilisation and under-development of local capability.\u00a0The increase in\u00a0military\u00a0investment and activities\u00a0that is underway in the Territory\u00a0provides\u00a0an\u00a0opportunity to\u00a0shift the dial beyond ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/social-licence-is-key-to-building-defence-in-the-north\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-22T01:25:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240318army8623994_0199-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Luke Gosling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Luke Gosling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/social-licence-is-key-to-building-defence-in-the-north\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240318army8623994_0199-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240318army8623994_0199-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"An Australian Army pilot from the 1st Aviation Regiment prepares to take off in a Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter during Exercise Griffin Guns 01-2024, near Robertson Barracks in Darwin, Northern Territory. *** Local Caption *** Exercise Griffin Guns 01-24 is a 1st Aviation Regiment gunnery activity, conducted 11 \u0096 26 March 2024. 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