Defence Minister Richard Marles says Cairns poised to house defence industries

Cairns is well-armed to house military industries, Defence Minister Richard Marles says, but local businesses with skin in the game are reportedly flagging cuts to spending in the sector.

Federal Defence Minister Richard Marles' portfolio is responsible for implementing the AUKUS agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States governments, which will deliver the Australian Defence Force nuclear powered submarines and other advanced military capabilities through a trilateral security partnership agreement between the three countries, designed to maintain security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns is well-armed to house military industries, Defence Minister Richard Marles said after touring a local specialist equipment manufacturing firm, but remained coy on specific funding that would boost the sector in the Far North.

Mr Marles visited J3Seven, a Smithfield firm developing tactical military equipment with defence contracts across the globe on Wednesday, with Labor’s Leichhardt candidate Matt Smith and senator Nita Green, to talk up the region’s ability to foster defence industries.

“I think Cairns is really suited to defence industry. I mean, J3Seven is an example of literally, how you can almost do anything, and base it here in Cairns,” Mr Marles said.

Mr Marles wouldn’t be drawn on specific funding commitments for local defence industries, as he acknowledged the role of the Cairns Marine Precinct in housing navy vessels as well as providing maintenance.

Labor Candidate for Leichhardt Matt Smith, Queensland senator Nita Green and Defence Minister Richard Marles inspect an Oxygen Jam machine manufactured by Smithfield company J3Seven. Picture: Brendan Radke

“We’ve seen for a long time, significant industry built up around the Port of Cairns … around HMAS Cairns, and we’ve seen the maintenance of not only civil maritime vessels, but also navy vessels and other military vessels happening here in Cairns,” he said.

“So there is a really good opportunity for defence industry to be a significant part of the economy of Cairns. It already is, but there’s a really significant opportunity for that to grow.”

That “opportunity” for growth has long been attributed to the expansion of the Cairns Marine Precinct as well as the construction of the Common User Facility, which fell into doubt after its co-contribution of $387m from state and federal Labor governments was deemed about $466m short of what was truly required to deliver the project.

NORSTA works closely with all three local Cairns shipyards (Tropical Reef Shipyard, Norship, Austal Australia) and HMAS Cairns, to schedule and deliver the numerous regional maintenance and repair activities.Photo: NORSTA Maritime

“Catherine King is very much across this, as our infrastructure minister, around the development of the Common User Facility. There’s clearly a discussion that needs to continue with the Queensland Government in relation to that,” Mr Marles said.

“But the Common User Facility is, I mean, it’s important for the broader economy of Cairns, it does have a role in relation to defence as well,” hes said when asked if his government was willing to further prop up the project.

Mr Marles said he didn’t want to steal the “Treasurer’s thunder” when asked about defence spending for the Far North in next week’s budget but reiterated the region’s “strategic importance” for national security, declaring Cairns as central to Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea.

Labor candidate for Leichhardt Matt Smith and Defence Minister Richard Marles inspect an Oxygen Jam machine manufactured by J3Seven with the company's instrument technician Sean Reason. Picture: Brendan Radke

However outgoing Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he was sceptical of the government’s defence industry spend, arguing businesses like J3Seven had expressed frustrations with funding commitments.

“If you talk to J3Seven, they’ll tell you the (tactical equipment) solutions they’ve presented, but they say there’s been cutbacks,” Mr Entsch said.

“Talk to maintenance (firms) at the marine precinct, there’s been cutbacks.

The federal defence minister Richard Marles has visited Cairns, pictured with Labor candidate for Leichhardt Matt Smith (left) and Queensland senator Nita Green. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Cairns was supposed to get four offshore patrol boats, they cut that back to two,” he said of a future allocation.

Originally published as Defence Minister Richard Marles says Cairns poised to house defence industries