Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the House for the opportunity to present a petition approved by the Petitions Committee. This petition calls on the Rudd government not to close or relocate Borneo Barracks at Cabarlah, just north of Toowoomba. The petition contains 1,523 signatures, which were collected in a very short space of time and represent not only the communities of Cabarlah and Highfields but also of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs in general. I should also, in presenting this petition, acknowledge the Highfields Better Business Group, local businessman Mac Stirling, and the LNP candidate for Toowoomba North, Trevor Watts, all of whom played a significant role in raising public awareness of the potential closure of this base and also worked hard to ensure the collection of signatures for the petition.

This petition is a potent expression of the significance of Borneo Barracks to the people of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs. Our region has a proud record of supporting the Australian defence forces. We boast two bases, and we want to keep it that way. We have the Cabarlah base and we also have the Oakey Army Aviation Base, which has a proud record stretching back prior to the Second World War of training service people to fly. Currently it is Australia’s premier helicopter training base for the ADF.

Those two bases and the people who work and live around them are an important part of our community but, more importantly, those people are very welcome in our community. They bring diversity and they bring a new range of skills into our area which we are very grateful for. The potential loss of one of those bases—that is, the Cabarlah base—is causing grave concern in our region. Losing the base would come at a substantial cost to the local economy, as it is one of the most significant local employers, supporting hundreds of jobs both directly and indirectly. In fact, it has been calculated that the closure of these barracks would lead to the loss of some 845 jobs and cost the community $105 million annually.

As I said, the community welcome the personnel that man these bases. They welcome their families, welcoming not only the contribution they make to the economy but, more importantly, to the community, and they bring diversity to our region, as I said. In fact, the biggest problem the Australian Defence Force has with sending people to Cabarlah is that they do not want to leave. I can understand that; Toowoomba and the Darling Downs is easily the best region in Australia to live in. But the reality is that, when you send people on postings, if they enjoy living there and raising their families there, that plays an important part in keeping these personnel within the Defence Force.

The base, of course, makes a critical contribution to the Australian Defence Force and the defence of our nation. Unfortunately, those people who are seeking certainty from the defence white paper did not get that, and the white paper recently released did not provide any clear direction as to the Rudd government’s intentions in relation to this base. However, on the government’s own criteria for defence facilities laid out in that paper, there is a very strong case for the retention of the Borneo Barracks at Cabarlah. The white paper states that the key principles for deciding the future needs of defence facilities include ensuring that facilities are ‘dispersed for security reasons’, that they are family friendly, that they are in well-resourced locations, and that they maintain both an urban and a regional presence. The Cabarlah base fills those requirements. It must remain open. The people of the community and of Australia need that to be the case. I present the petition.

The petition reads as follows—

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of Highfields Better Business

Draws to the attention of the House:

Borneo Barracks Cabarlah Qld and the effects if it were to be closed or relocated.

• Total annual economic losses of $105.3 million
• Expected job losses in excess of 845
• Serious short-term downturn in the local housing property market with the simultaneous release of 190 residential properties and 120 rented properties
• Serious negative effect on small business particularly in Highfields
• Serious social impact with high risk effect to local schools and child care enrolments.

We therefore ask the House to:

Not close or relocate Borneo Barracks.

from 1,523 citizens.

Petition received.