US Marines’ deployment to Darwin to go ahead in 2020 despite initial COVID-19 fears
The US Marines’ annual rotation to Darwin will go ahead despite NT’s strict coronavirus border control restrictions, after high stakes meetings between Australia and the United States.
Northern Territory
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THE US Marines’ annual rotation to Darwin will go ahead despite NT’s strict coronavirus border control restrictions, after high stakes meetings between Australia and the United States.
The 2020 rotation, expected to bring 2500 US Marines to the Top End, had initially been suspended in March due to coronavirus fears.
But Defence Minister Linda Reynolds on Wednesday confirmed Australia and the US had agreed a “modified 2020 Marine Rotational Force-Darwin” would occur this year, though Exercise Pitch Black and Exercise Hamel remained cancelled.
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Details on the size of the US contingent or when they would arrive has not been disclosed.
The resurrection of this year’s rotation will be a boost for the NT economy.
According to a KPMG report last year, the 2016 contingent of 1250 US Marines pumped $7.5 million in the NT economy that year, while a rotation size of 1600 to 2500 marines would contribute an estimated $14.1 million.
The US Marines, as per NT Government protocol, will go into 14 days of quarantine on barracks in Darwin, away from Australian personnel, and will be screened for COVID-19 every day for four days before they depart for the Top End.
Senator Reynolds said there would be “special provisions” made to keep local indigenous communities safe.
“The decision was based on Australia’s record to date in managing the impacts from COVID-19, as well as strict adherence by deployed US Marines to the mandatory 14-day quarantine and other requirements,” Senator Reynolds said.
The United States, with more than 1.23 million confirmed coronavirus cases and a death toll that’s surpassed 72,000, remains firm in the grips of the pandemic.
Australia’s coronavirus toll stands at 6849 cases and 96 deaths. The NT is just over a week away from significantly scaling back a second tranche of coronavirus restrictions.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner confirmed he had been in discussion with Senator Reynolds to ensure the deployment could happen while “putting the safety of Territorians first”.
“The Territory’s rebound is getting a massive boost, and we’re doing it safely,” he said.
“Having marines here means creating more jobs here. That is exactly what we need right now.”
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Senator Reynolds said she and her US counterpart Secretary of Defense Mark Esper “agreed the pandemic has only served to reinforce the importance” of the alliance.
“Our defence organisations’ focus is now on maintaining force readiness and helping our partners in the Pacific and Southeast Asia,” she said.
Senator Reynolds also revealed US and Australian researchers were co-operating to study “the survival of the virus that causes COVID-19 on various surfaces, and how it is impacted by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.”
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