Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Macdonald is right. Building our defence resources and facilities in our north is a key part of our white paper and our plan for Northern Australia. We want to improve our defence facilities and increase our Defence personnel presence in the north. The white paper released last week by the Minister for Defence delivers on that commitment because we will make a significant investment over the next decade to upgrade Defence bases and facilities across our north, including Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Alice Springs and Katherine. Right across our north we will be delivering a more capable force for Australia's security. This means we will be better able to detect, and rapidly respond to, threats to our maritime borders; protect our communities, cities and remote regional areas in the north; operate into the region from Northern Australia to support our region's security; and respond when help is needed.