{"id":5231,"date":"2020-02-24T01:56:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T01:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=5231"},"modified":"2020-02-24T01:56:37","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T01:56:37","slug":"1-6-billion-to-upgrade-raaf-base-tindal-to-protect-australians-and-create-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/02\/24\/1-6-billion-to-upgrade-raaf-base-tindal-to-protect-australians-and-create-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"$1.6 Billion to Upgrade RAAF Base Tindal to Protect Australians and Create Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Morrison Government is investing $1.6 billion to ensure the Australian Defence Force (ADF) can continue to deliver a potent air combat capability from the Northern Territory.
\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government had approved a further $1.1 billion program of works at the RAAF Base Tindal, on top of the $495 million already invested in New Air Combat Capability infrastructure.
\n\u201cThis investment is all about keeping Australians safe and putting Australians in jobs,\u201d the Prime Minister said.
\n\u201cOver 300 jobs will be created in the construction phase alone. The investment is part of the $8 billion we are spending over the coming decade on Defence facilities in the Top End, as part of the Defence White Paper and under our Developing Northern Australia initiatives.
\n\u201cIt will be integral to our Alliance with the United States, and increase the reach of Air Force capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
\n\u201cAs part of these upgrades, RAAF Base Tindal will be able to deliver enhanced air-to-air refuelling and air support capabilities, ensuring we can support critical ADF operations \u2013 everything from air combat missions through to responding to natural disasters both at home and throughout our region.\u201d
\nUnder the redevelopment projects, $737 million will go towards upgrading the airfield including extending the runway, building a new air movements terminal, parking apron and extra fuel storage facilities.
\nAn additional $437 million will provide critical base infrastructure upgrades, particularly engineering services on the base including power, water and sewage, as well as 108 new live-in units for Australian Defence Force personnel.
\nMinister for Defence, Senator the Hon. Linda Reynolds CSC said RAAF Base Tindal is one of our most important Defence bases.
\n\u201cThe 2016 Defence White Paper identified Northern Australia as strategically important, both for national defence and as a forward base for regional engagement,” Minister Reynolds said.
\nMinister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Melissa Price MP said Defence\u2019s managing contractor will be required to maximise the involvement of local industry from the Katherine region and wider Northern Territory.
\n\u201cHundreds of locals will be employed to deliver these projects, with many more set to benefit from subcontract packages and supply chain work,\u201d Minister Price said.
\nPublic information sessions are scheduled for 27 February 2020 in Katherine and the following week in Darwin.
\nSubject to Parliamentary approval, construction is expected to commence from mid-2020, with completion expected by the end of 2027.
\nThe Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Industry will open the recently completed $495 million New Air Combat Capability facility.
\nThe completion of this facility will support the arrival of Australia\u2019s cutting-edge F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft at RAAF Base Tindal in the years ahead.
\n\u201cUnder this project 64 percent of the total work packages were awarded to Northern Territory businesses, representing some $242 million being injected into the Territory\u2019s economy,\u201d Minister Price said.
\n\u201cThese completed works also contributed to local Indigenous employment, with an eight percent Indigenous workforce participation rate and three sub-contracts, valued at $27 million, awarded to Indigenous companies.\u201d
\nFurther detail on the proposed works can be found at\u00a0https:\/\/www.defence.gov.au\/id\/RAAF-Tindal\/Default.asp.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Morrison Government is investing $1.6 billion to ensure the Australian Defence Force (ADF) can continue to deliver a potent air combat capability from the Northern Territory. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government had approved a further $1.1 billion program of works at the RAAF Base Tindal, on top of the $495 million already … Continue reading “$1.6 Billion to Upgrade RAAF Base Tindal to Protect Australians and Create Jobs”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}