Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

In fact, following the signing of the memorandum of understanding this morning I am looking forward to travelling to Townsville with my counterpart, Dr Ng, this afternoon to meet with community leaders, including business and local government. Defence will commence engagement with community groups and stakeholders. I am also intending to appoint a dedicated community liaison officer in North Queensland to ensure that businesses and other stakeholders are able to receive timely updates on implementation and that they have a point of contact for their inquiries.

The detailed planning for facilities development will occur in early 2017, concurrent with master-planning activity. Defence will provide an initial business case on upgrades to government in 2017, and we anticipate construction of facilities will commence from late 2018 to 2019. The scale and complexity of these developments is quite significant, and it needs to be done properly. But implementing this initiative also gives Australian servicemen and women access to better training facilities, and it will enhance our capability as well. We are keen to progress—(Time expired)