Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite says solar and battery systems will be established at NT Defence bases as part of a $64 million renewable package

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Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite says solar and battery systems will be established at NT Defence bases as part of a $64 million renewable package · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now we know that the Federal Assistant Minister for Defense,
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  Speaker 1: Matt Thistlethwaite, is in Darwin today and he's going to
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  Speaker 1: be visiting the Robertson Barracks where is set to make
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  Speaker 1: a major renewable energy announcement. But he joins us in
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  Speaker 1: the studio. First, good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, thanks for having me on your show here.
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  Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show. Thanks so much
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  Speaker 1: for your time this morning. Now, what is the announcement?
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  Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit more about It's set to
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  Speaker 1: be a new energy project, as I understand.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. I'll bit Robertson Barracks today with Luke
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  Speaker 2: Gosling and we're announcing the Defense Renewable Energy and Energy
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  Speaker 2: Security Program. It's a sixty four million dollar program in
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  Speaker 2: which we'll invest in defense bases throughout the country in
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  Speaker 2: renewable energy projects. And the one that we're launching today
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  Speaker 2: at Robertson Barracks is an eleven megawatt solar farm with
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  Speaker 2: a two and a half megawatt battery that'll save about
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  Speaker 2: eight thousand tons of emissions per year. But importantly, in
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  Speaker 2: the process, we've created jobs in the local community. There's
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  Speaker 2: been about eighteen local Northern Territory businesses involved in the
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  Speaker 2: construction project. Eleven of those were small to medium sized enterprises,
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  Speaker 2: six of them were First Nations businesses. So we're reducing emissions,
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  Speaker 2: we're saving money for the defense force as well, and
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  Speaker 2: we're taking pressure off the local energy grid as well.
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  Speaker 2: So it's a win for the lordn Territory and it's
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  Speaker 2: a win for defense.
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  Speaker 1: Any idea how much it's going to say, financially sort
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  Speaker 1: of year on year, You know, it is a big investment,
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  Speaker 1: I guess from the outset, but I would imagine that
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  Speaker 1: it is going to save money each year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it will reduce the cost of the energy needs
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  Speaker 2: at the base by forty percent, so it's a pretty
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  Speaker 2: big saving and that means that more money in the
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  Speaker 2: future can be invested in capability. And when you're saving
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  Speaker 2: money on energy, you can invest more in capability to
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  Speaker 2: defend the Australian people. And that's the philosophy behind this project,
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  Speaker 2: as of course, meeting with the government's commitments to reduce
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  Speaker 2: emissions and to boost renewable energy throughout Australia.
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  Speaker 1: I know that a lot of Territorians have sort of
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  Speaker 1: you know, they've got confidence in solar and renewables, but
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  Speaker 1: they have got a few projects here in the territory
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  Speaker 1: which haven't been connected and have hit other roadblocks. Is
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  Speaker 1: there a guarantee that this one is going to get
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  Speaker 1: off the ground and then everything's going to run smoothly?
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  Speaker 2: So far the project is running smoothly. It'll be operational
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  Speaker 2: in quarter four of this year. And it's not just
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  Speaker 2: Robertson Barracks. Tyndall, Larrakia, raf based, Darwin and harts Ridge
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  Speaker 2: will also benefit from these projects. The NT gets the
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  Speaker 2: most of these projects. You're getting half of the ten
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  Speaker 2: that have been allocated throughout the country because you've got
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  Speaker 2: an abundance of sunlight and they certainly make sense in
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  Speaker 2: the north here. So it's something that I'm ploased to
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  Speaker 2: be here to announce today and is a great partnership
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  Speaker 2: between the Northern Territory and the Albanize labor.
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  Speaker 1: Government and how do you reckon it will benefit the
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  Speaker 1: community more broadly, but also so I guess the defense
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  Speaker 1: community more broadly.
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  Speaker 2: Well, firstly, you're reducing emissions and that's important for all
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  Speaker 2: of us, and reducing the impacts of climate change. We're
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  Speaker 2: going to take pressure off the local energy grid by
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  Speaker 2: producing more renewables and importantly in the process where creating jobs.
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  Speaker 2: There's the construction jobs that I've just mentioned, but also
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  Speaker 2: there'll be twelve ongoing jobs specifically at Robertson and others
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  Speaker 2: the other bases that will benefit the local community. To
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  Speaker 2: win win.
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  Speaker 1: The big question that we always get asked on this
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  Speaker 1: show when there is a major project is are those
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  Speaker 1: tenders will have those tenders gone out to local businesses.
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  Speaker 2: There's been in this case, eighteen local businesses that have
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  Speaker 2: been involved in the construction, So that's local jobs. As
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  Speaker 2: I mentioned earlier, six of those were indigenous businesses and
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  Speaker 2: eleven of them were SME. So we're very much focused
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  Speaker 2: in defense on providing opportunities for local businesses and to
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  Speaker 2: employ locals.
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  Speaker 1: Now, what's the timeline for the project.
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  Speaker 2: Well, as I said, constructions almost completed and it will
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  Speaker 2: become operational at the end of this year in quarter four.
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  Speaker 1: Now I know that there has been a defense review conducted.
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  Speaker 1: It's now been provided to the federal government, and underpinning
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  Speaker 1: that document is the premise that China represents well a
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  Speaker 1: military threat to Australia. I think that it's something that
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  Speaker 1: a lot of Aussies are talking about right now, and
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  Speaker 1: it does seem to be something that's sort of at
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  Speaker 1: the four of people's minds. I'm not sure whether it
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  Speaker 1: is more so than it's been before. But for us
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  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory, particularly after an event like
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  Speaker 1: the commemorations of the bombing of Darwin, I suppose we
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  Speaker 1: know greater than anybody just you know, just how vulnerable
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  Speaker 1: we can be in different ways, but just how strategically
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  Speaker 1: important we are here in the Northern Territory. What part
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  Speaker 1: does the Northern Territory play in that review that's been conducted.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we face the toughest set of strategic circumstances that
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  Speaker 2: we've faced since World War II, and the territory is
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  Speaker 2: going to be a crucial part of the ongoing defense
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  Speaker 2: of Australia. The Defense Strategic Review has been handed to
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  Speaker 2: the government. I haven't seen it yet, only the Prime
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  Speaker 2: Minister and the Defense Minister have a copy and over
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  Speaker 2: the coming months that will be released and the government
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  Speaker 2: will respond. But I was at Larrakia Barracks yesterday talking
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  Speaker 2: to the wonderful ADF personnel that are based there. I'm
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  Speaker 2: in Robertson today I'm going to Rublef based Darwin today
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  Speaker 2: as well. And what we've seen over the last decade,
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  Speaker 2: in particular in the Northern Territory is an increase in
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  Speaker 2: ADF presence, a growing of that presence and growing IF capability,
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  Speaker 2: and I n visis that that will continue into the future.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, So you do think that we will potentially
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  Speaker 1: see a greater presence of ADF personnel here in the territory.
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  Speaker 2: There's no doubt that Darwin and the Northern Territory and
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  Speaker 2: the top end is strategically important to Australia. There's no
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  Speaker 2: doubt about that. And that's where you've seen that growing
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  Speaker 2: presence in the past and nine visits that will continue
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  Speaker 2: into the future.
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  Speaker 1: Because I know there has been some criticism at different
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  Speaker 1: times as well, you know, with the likes of South
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  Speaker 1: Australia maybe having a greater presence or having more happening
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  Speaker 1: there in terms of defense than what we do here
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  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory, when as you've seen, we are
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  Speaker 1: so strategically important.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, defense invests in different capabilities in different states. There's
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  Speaker 2: seventy bases throughout the country. Defense is the largest landowner.
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  Speaker 2: That's why these renewable energy projects make such sense. But
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  Speaker 2: there's different specialties in different regions, and the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: certainly is strategically important to the Defense Force and will
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  Speaker 2: continue to be into the future.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Matt, before I let you go, obviously, crime has
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  Speaker 1: been a big issue for us here in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure that you've seen plenty of that coverage, particularly
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  Speaker 1: out of the likes of Alice Springs. I know that
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  Speaker 1: Barnaby Joyce has taken aim at the Prime Minister rating
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  Speaker 1: Sydney's Marti Gras parade is more important, he said, than
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  Speaker 1: the crime crisis in Alice Springs. The nationals MP said
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  Speaker 1: that locals were annoyed with mister Albanezi for spending more
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  Speaker 1: time at the tennis or at the Marti Gras than
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  Speaker 1: in the embattled out back town. What do you make
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  Speaker 1: of those comments?
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  Speaker 2: Well, as soon as our Springs became an issue, the
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  Speaker 2: Prime Minister traveled there, sat down with local leaders and
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  Speaker 2: police force and tried to work on solutions. And that
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  Speaker 2: solution has been developed in conjunction with the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: government and is being rolled out. Matt Keo, the Assistant
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  Speaker 2: Defense Minister, and Veterans Minister was here on Sunday for
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  Speaker 2: the Battle of Darwin commemoration. I was here yesterday at
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  Speaker 2: one down at Adelaide River and I'm here for the
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  Speaker 2: next three days. And that's why you have ministers to
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  Speaker 2: represent the government in different portfolio areas. We cherish the
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  Speaker 2: relationship that we have with the Northern Territory. We've got
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  Speaker 2: some excellent representatives up here in Luke, Gosling, Melanderry McCarthy,
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  Speaker 2: Marion Scrimsa. They do a great job in informing us
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  Speaker 2: in camera and throughout the country about what's needed here
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  Speaker 2: in the end too, I know when.
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  Speaker 1: It comes to some of the issues around Australia with crime,
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  Speaker 1: particularly youth crime in regional parts of well of Northern Australia,
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  Speaker 1: you know, the likes of Queensland at the moment, also
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It's being raised as
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  Speaker 1: a big issue. Is it something that's on the federal
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  Speaker 1: government's agenda.
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  Speaker 2: It certainly is an issue that's on our agenda and
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  Speaker 2: we're aware of a lot of the time. These are
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  Speaker 2: complex issues. They don't just involve crime, They involve issues
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  Speaker 2: of social disadvantage. They involve housing issues, they involve employment issues,
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  Speaker 2: training issues. They're complex issues to deal with and that's
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  Speaker 2: why we've had a number of ministers that are working
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  Speaker 2: on these issues with the Prime Minister. But what's important
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  Speaker 2: is that we're working in concert with state and territory governments. Ultimately,
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  Speaker 2: a responsibility for crimes acts and those laws rests with
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  Speaker 2: the state and territories, but we want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that as a Commonwealth government, we're responsive to their needs
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  Speaker 2: and providing the support that they need to get on
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  Speaker 2: top of those issues.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Federal Assistant Minister for Defense, Matt Thistlethwaite, we really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for coming
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  Speaker 1: in and having a chat with us. Thanks Katie, thank you,