A Pilbara shire is spruiking the region’s mines and sparse land as ideal desert warfare training grounds as it taps the armed forces to pour funds into an airport expansion.
A Pilbara shire is spruiking the region’s mines and sparse landscape as ideal desert warfare training grounds as it taps the armed forces to pour funds into a multi-million-dollar airport expansion.
The Shire of Ashburton on Tuesday will vote on whether to approve a $43.2 million airport upgrade to ensure it can accommodate larger aircraft when Fokker F100s are phased out.
That upgrade would primarily focus on extending the runway but a masterplan for the precinct also includes expansion for a freight and logistics hub and dedicated defence space.
While funding partners are not identified in that motion, a separate shire submission to the Department of Defence in December asked the federal agency to consider coughing up $5 million toward the project.
The investment would enable Defence to use Onslow’s airport as a backup base in the North West which would also be close to industrial land, logistics hubs and potential space to service submarines.
Onslow is also home to the North West’s only class IV waste facility which can handle hazardous waste such as PFAS and asbestos.
Ashburton’s submission to Defence did not solely focus on Onslow’s airport.
Rio Tinto’s closed mining town of Pannawonica was identified as a site ripe for desert warfare and e-warfare defence training once the town’s use for mining winds down.
The review singled out potential for Huntsman and Redback tanks to be tested in the vast tracts of unallocated crown land surrounding Pannawonica, and for uncrewed Ghostbats and other Boeing aircraft to roam the skies above.
It also suggested old mine infrastructure across the shire could one day be used for training drills, and that resources workers with capability in remote operations, automation and robotics could be of use to the burgeoning space industry.
The Pilbara is home to a small reserves force – known as the Pilbara Regiment – which is headquartered at Karratha’s Taylor Barracks and has bases in Port Hedland, Exmouth, Tom Price, Newman, and Geraldton.
Pilbara Regiment also serves a surveillance unit over 1.5 million square kilometres from Geraldton to Port Hedland and inland to the Northern Territory border.
The federal government’s defence strategic review in 2023 called for immediate upgrades to northern Australia’s bases, ports and barracks.
The Shire on Tuesday will also vote on whether to remain a paid-up member of the North West Defence Alliance, a group of nine local governments helmed by former City of Karratha mayor Peter Long.
Australian production of the South Korea-developed AS9 Hunstman self-propelled howitzer is expected to commence late this year in Victoria.
