Tuesday, 9 May 2006

070/2006

$10.6 MILLION IN DEFENCE FUNDING FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Defence facilities in South Australia will benefit from $10.6 million in funding for 2006-07.

$3.4 million has been allocated to approved Defence facilities projects. A further $7.2 million will be spent on Defence Estate upkeep works.

This new commitment follows the more than $600 million that will be invested in South Australia over the next seven years as part of the Hardened and Networked Army initiative, which will re-role and relocate a parachute infantry battalion from Sydney to Adelaide .

This is in addition to South Australia becoming the home to the new headquarters of the Air Warfare Destroyer project, creating up to 200 additional jobs in South Australia , as well as generating specialised design work for contractors throughout Australia . The new Air Warfare Destroyer Systems Centre will manage the design schedule, budgets and work breakdown structures of the complex shipbuilding project worth up to $6 billion.

Defence infrastructure investment in South Australia will see significant funds being allocated to the Ammunition Breakdown Facility at Port Wakefield.

Port Wakefield Ordnance Breakdown Facility

This project will provide a new facility for the breakdown and analysis of ammunition and ordnance. The project will deliver buildings and supporting infrastructure with associated upgrades to security and range control facilities. Construction commenced in early 2006 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.

Program of Major Works (by State, Federal Electorate and Locality)	Total Estimated Expenditure $m	Estimated Cumulative Expenditure to 30 June 2006 $m	Budget Estimate 2006-07 $m
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Wakefield
Port Wakefield Ordnance Breakdown Facility	8.4	5.0	3.4
Total South Australia	8.4	5.0	3.4

Estate Upkeep

The Government will meet its 2004-05 budget announcement to provide an additional $300 million over three years from 2005-06 to meet increasing costs of maintaining the Defence estate. The additional funding will bring planned expenditure on Defence estate upkeep to approximately $381.8 million during 2006-07.

The additional funding will enable Defence to meet the increasing cost of maintaining its extensive base infrastructure, including airfields, naval bases, barracks, training ranges and fuel farms. Funds will also be used to meet community, environmental and occupational health and safety regulatory requirements.

The programme of estate upkeep works is developed and revised each year. The further funding is expected to result in additional expenditure on estate upkeep in South Australia over the next three years. During 2006-07 this will be approximately $7.2 million.

Examples of works to be undertaken in South Australia include:

• structural repairs to buildings at Port Wakefield;
• roof repairs at Keswick Barracks;
• refurbishment of laboratories for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation at Edinburgh ;
• upgrading of communications cabling at Woomera;
• airfield pavement maintenance at RAAF Edinburgh; and
• removal of asbestos from buildings at Hampstead Barracks.

Media contacts

Nigel Blunden	(Dr Nelson)	02 6277 7800	0407 632 931
Rachel Kingsford Smith	(Senator Sandy Macdonald)	02 6277 3705	0408 019 537
Defence Media Liaison		02 6265 3343	0408 498 664

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