Queensland’s first Defence Industry Hub has officially opened in Ipswich, with the $5 million facility ready to recruit more businesses to the local defence supply chain.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the hub, located in the Ipswich CBD at Fire Station 101 on Limestone Street, will help grow Queensland’s defence industry and create more local jobs.
“We already have a significant defence industry supply chain established in the Ipswich region, but we want more small-to-medium enterprises to take advantage of the growing opportunities,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“We’ve allocated $5 million to the hub so it can help local businesses get on the defence radar and be considered for contracts in areas like heavy vehicle manufacturing and maintenance, aerospace maintenance, and autonomous systems development.
“Ipswich is one of Queensland’s major locations for military and civilian defence activity, so there are plenty of opportunities.
“The city is home to the RAAF Base Amberley, Australia’s largest defence air base, while the $170 million MILVEHCOE being constructed at Redbank Plains will soon become a major manufacturing centre for armoured vehicles.
“Our aim is to have more than 10,000 defence jobs in Queensland by 2028, and the Ipswich Defence Industry Hub is going to help us reach that goal.”
Armoured vehicles will be manufactured at Redbank.
Ipswich City Council general manager of community, cultural and economic development Ben Pole welcomed the State Government initiative and said the Defence Industry Hub complemented council’s prioritisation of the region as a defence industry hotspot.
“Defence is a priority industry in council’s Economic and Workforce Development Plan, generating more than $1.5 billion in export value for Ipswich in 2018/19 and directly employing more than 3,200 people in the city,” he said.
“Ipswich accounts for over 40 per cent of Queensland’s total defence export value so it is a great initiative of the State Government to focus on developing the industry and supply chain from here.”
Since 2017 council has led the City of Ipswich Defence Industry Development and Attraction Committee (CIDIDAC) with representatives from government, the Australian Defence Force, industry and universities to drive defence collaboration and industry capability opportunities.
Council endorsed the Defence Ipswich Action Plan 2018-2023, which was developed in collaboration with CIDIDAC, making Ipswich the only local government in Australia to have a dedicated and adopted defence industry plan.
Mr Pole said council had hosted two highly successful defence summits in 2018 and 2019 and would continue to work with all levels of government and industry to keep Ipswich at the forefront of defence investment and growth.
The Defence Ipswich strategic goals are:
- Position and promote Ipswich as a strategic location for defence capability, innovation and growth.
- Advocate for and support defence within the Ipswich region and community.
- Facilitate and develop the regional defence industry supply chain ecosystem.
- Enable defence industry employment and business development pathways.
- Enhance defence industry, government, academic and entrepreneurial collaboration and innovation.
The hub is an initiative of the State Government’s Queensland Defence Industries 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan.
Information on hub activities will be available via the Defence Jobs Queensland website.
