The Territory government has begun discussions with the Defence Department about the possible deployment of long range missiles in the Top End.

Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Darwin this week, NT Major Projects Commissioner Jason Schoolmeester said the government had begun talks with the commonwealth about potential locations for the rollout.

Announced as part of the Defence Strategic Review released in April, Canberra plans to spend $4.1bn to acquire more long-range strike systems and a missile manufacturing capacity.

Its shopping list includes $1.6bn for long-range strike capabilities including speeding-up the delivery of extra high mobility artillery rocket systems — HIMARS — and the precision strike missiles — PRISM.

It’s hoping the HIMARS, which have a range of up to 300km, will be in place by 2026-27.

Defence plans to spend $2.5bn for guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise as part of its proposed $19bn commitment over the next five years to meeting the review’s priorities.

The Albanese government will dedicate $2 billion to the Learmonth, Scherger and Townsville air bases, a facility in the Cocos Islands and bases in the Northern Territory.

Australia began bolstering its northern defences in 2011 when then-prime minster Julia Gillard and then-United States president Barack Obama agreed to US Marines and aircraft being permanently rotated through Darwin.

This week’s review, which signalled a need to start projecting force into the region, recommended an urgent and comprehensive remediation of northern bases to better enable the Australian Defence Force to operate from them.

The $19 billion to be spent over the four-year forward estimates period will be fully offset by savings elsewhere in the defence portfolio. Beyond that, however, defence spending, currently about 2 per cent of GDP, will begin to grow as the true cost of the AUKUS submarines and long-range missile programs begin to bite.

The national significance of key Northern Territory infrastructure assets has been singled-out in a crucial new defence review released on Monday.

The Defence Strategic Review found recent severe flooding which closed the Stuart Highway and Alice Springs to Darwin railway this year had “highlighted the importance” of well-maintained resilient civil infrastructure, including ports and roads that support the network.

The future role of Robertson Barracks, home to the 1st Brigade, in our ongoing defence is unclear, but could potentially be beefed up.

The report forecasts “significant changes to army force posture and structure”, saying army combat brigades “may be re-roled and select capabilities postured in Northern Australia”.

One of six key recommendations is to improve the Australian Defence Force’s capacity to operate from Australia’s northern bases.

An 18-month joint study with the US and the UK is due to be completed by early next year, but staffers from a high-powered US Senate committee have been visiting Australia for talks this week.

Newly tabled responses to Senate questions on notice show the nuclear-powered submarine taskforce has an approved budget of $120m for the 2021-22 financial year and $180m for 2022-23.

That would include funding for technical studies and travel. It would also cover contributions to other government entities which are supporting the taskforce, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and nuclear agencies Ansto and Arpansa.

costs of actually building the submarines are yet to be allocated in the budget

The nation’s pre-election preoccupations are trivial, even while huge shifts in global security demand that our leaders consider actions that have been unthinkable.

In this article, AALD alumni Peter Hartcher proposes:

•  conscription
•  cutting trade with China
•  even more new USA war bases

Australia soon will be discussing with Washington the options for hosting major US combatants, including nuclear-capable planes and ships and subs, on Australian territory, in rotation or home-basing.

... but expect to be left in the lurch in the likelihood of USA abandoning democracy