Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tasmania has a long and proud history of serving in the Australian Defence Force. In my electorate of Bass the Paterson Barracks—which is in the process of being moved to a new location, partly funded by the coalition government—is the home of the 16th Field Battery, which is the oldest artillery unit in Australia. From as far back as the Boer War, where over 800 Tasmanians served, through to our most recent involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq and the many peacekeeping and humanitarian operations across the world, thousands of men and women have made an outstanding contribution as part of our defence forces. We are fortunate to have heard from them firsthand in this place about their service and sacrifice and about the ongoing challenges faced by those who have served our nation.

I would especially like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and pay tribute to the support provided by the families and friends of our serving Defence Force, particularly the partners and children of serving members who are overseas. It is not an easy life to be part of a defence family, and the sacrifices made by the families of defence personnel ought to be recognised. They are often separated from loved ones and support them through those often lifelong physical and mental consequences of their service.

For almost a decade prior to being elected as the member for Bass, I was an elected member of the George Town Council. Like many regional towns in northern Tasmania, George Town has a proud history of Defence service. On occasions such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day the community come together in great numbers to reflect and commemorate. It is on these occasions that we see the community support that exists for our Defence personnel, past and present.

During my time at the council I was fortunate to develop a close relationship with the local RSL sub-branch. For various reasons, the club had encountered some difficulties that led to the closure of their building. But with the assistance of the council and the dedication of the volunteer membership of the sub-branch, they were able to re-establish themselves in a disused room in the town's memorial hall. A few years later, with the support of the state Liberal government, they moved into a new main street location. This has allowed them the opportunity to connect with the community, to host important commemorative occasions, such as Anzac Day, and to house an extensive memorabilia display as well as provide space for welfare and advocacy. The journey of the RSL sub-branch from decline to renewal highlighted to me the positive social impact the defence community have on the wider community. Membership has increased and the main street is reinvigorated by their presence.

Tasmania is also home to a growing defence industry, providing niche capabilities for the ADF and exporting world-class technology around the globe. I am especially proud of the government's $30 million phase 1 investment in the Tasmanian defence innovation and design precinct at the University of Tasmania's Australian Maritime College. This will help drive defence related research and development projects, creating more jobs in Launceston and a world-class research precinct.

By supporting phase 1 of the research and design precinct, the Morrison government is supporting the high value testing and evaluation needs of the Royal Australian Navy, increasing opportunities for greater collaboration between defence, academia and industry to deliver cutting-edge defence capability and to build the AMC's capability to support the national shipbuilding college as it builds the workforce of the future, to deliver on the national naval shipbuilding plan.

We estimate an additional 150 jobs in the region will be created each year, which is a significant boost for the economy of Bass. Additionally, we expect up to 58 jobs will be created during the construction program. I have already met with Minister Reynolds to discuss the rollout of this project and look forward to working with the minister as this substantial project gets underway. This is another example of the way in which the defence forces in Australia are connecting the community and the economy.

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