The Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson,
Minister for Defence
The strong Defence presence in Gilmore includes a range of Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army units at Nowra.
The Australian Government through Defence will continue its strong support to the economy of Gilmore based on a continuing military presence. The current military population of the electorate includes over 1,600 ADF members, Defence civilians and ADF cadets. Defence families make up an integral part of the Gilmore community.
The Government will continue to make an extensive financial contribution of around $130.0 million in 2007-08, to the funding of both Defence facilities and personnel serving in Gilmore.
As part of the ongoing commitment to supporting and valuing our ADF personnel and their families the following improvements will be made:
Local cadets will benefit from an expansion and enhancement of the Defence Force Cadet scheme - giving our young people the life, leadership and employability skills valued by employers and community leaders.
Defence facilities in New South Wales will benefit from $322.2 million in funding for 2007-08.
$208.6 million has been allocated to approved Defence facilities projects. A further $113.6 million will be spent on Defence Estate upkeep works.
Approved capital facilities projects for Gilmore include the Single Living and Environment Accommodation Precinct proposals for HMAS Albatross.