Showcasing the Territory’s defence capabilities

Last week, key members of the Defence industry, Defence, government, think tanks and other Defence and national security stakehold­ers attended the 6th Northern Australia Defence Summit, to explore the Northern Territory’s role in supporting Australia’s Defence and national security objectives in the fast-changing Indo-Pacific region.

The summit was book-ended by a number of additional Defence focused events as part of October Business Month. This included two separate roundta­bles where industry, Defence and government discussed the future of the maritime and aerospace sustainment industries in the Territory. Strategies to build local industrial capability, workforce skills and infrastructure featured heavily.

DefenceNT also hosted the Commonwealth Shipbuild­ing and Consultative Forum providing an ideal opportunity for the Territory to showcase our fast-growing maritime infra­structure, industrial and research capabilities. The forum included a tour of the Larrakeyah Defence Precinct, the Marine Industry Park and proposed site of the Darwin Ship Lift, and Charles Darwin University.

The Northern Territory’s Stra­tegic Defence Advisory Board chaired by Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Margaret Staib AM CSC met in Darwin and took the opportunity to meet with local businesses and key stakeholders including national and interna­tional primes, senior Defence officers, the US Military and the Northern Territory Government.

The new Australian Government Defence Industry Minister visited Darwin and reconfirmed the Australian Government’s agenda for the Australian Defence industry that aligns with the Territory’s goals to grow and diversify our own Defence industry.

The week wrapped up with an industry day led by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific in partner­ship with the United States Force Posture Initiative (USFPI) team. The discussion included how Territory industry can be better positioned for future US Military construction projects and lessons learned from the recent US Air Force projects at RAAF Base Darwin.

The achievements of indi­viduals and businesses who have made an outstanding contribu­tion to our local Defence indus­try were celebrated at the annual AIDN gala dinner. The winners of the Chief Minister’s Excellence Award, AIDN’s Young Achiever Awards and Innovation Award have again proven that Defence is backed by a passionate and committed local industry.

The events and engagement last week reinforced the strong and enduring partnership between the Northern Territory and Defence and the importance of a strong and capable local North­ern Territory Industry.