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Western Australian Minister for Police, Veterans Issues and the Defence Industry Paul Papalia has called for a permanent posting of Australian Defence Force personnel and infrastructure to protect the nation’s resource heart.
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An expanded force posture at RAAF Base Learmonth at Exmouth in north-western WA could provide a key strategic hold for the Australian Defence Force, according to Minister Papalia, who spoke exclusively with Defence Connect during the recent Land Forces 2024 Expo held in Melbourne earlier this month.
Papalia previously joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1978 and served as a Navy clearance diver in a counter-terrorist squadron of the Special Air Service Regiment and was deployed on operations to Iraq on two occasions.
In addition, Papalia commanded the Clearance Diving Team, a navy patrol boat and the Navy’s submarine escape and rescue service. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross and Commendations from both the Land and Maritime Commanders before leaving the service in early 2004.
“Western Australia’s strategic location makes it critical and a key part of defence of the nation,” he said.
“We argue that Western Australia, because of the massive resources sector, has a lot of capability and skill sets that can be applied to defence, and that’s like a competitive advantage that our state has, and it’s something the nation should exploit more.
“Our industries aren’t necessarily reliant upon defence, unlike South Australia, but they can apply themselves to defence, and that gives a great opportunity.
“One of the key things that I think I was disappointed with by the ultimate document (the Defence Strategic Review released in 2023), was there’s one regular combat element of the Army in Western Australia – that’s a Special Air Service Regiment – and there are no combat elements to the Royal Australian Air Force. And yet, Western Australia is the source of 53 per cent of the nation’s revenue-generating exports.
“The large amount of that is sourced from the Pilbara in the north-west of Western Australia. We have a really good, admirable Pilbara regiment but they are reserves and they’re undergunned. They are a regional force surveillance unit. They’re undergunned, they’re understaffed, they’re under-resourced and they’re not regular.”
The sentiment is echoed by a recent speech from Western Australian mining magnate Georgina Rinehart, who advocated for defence infrastructure to protect the nation’s vital mining network, during a speech at the recent News Corp Australia 2024 National Bush Summit held in Port Hedland, Western Australia.
“She’s (Rinehart) reflecting the state government’s view ... and we made it formally to the strategic review," Minister Papalia said.
“When they talk about hardening the northern bases, that’s fine but I’m not entirely sure what it means if there are no people there permanently. RAAF Base Learmonth in Exmouth, that is probably the most prime potential location for a greater permanent presence by Air Force and Army.
“Learmonth is a good base and if you look at the map of Australia on a globe, the North West Cape is actually pointing up towards the choke points in the Indonesian archipelago through which all of our resources travel on their way north to generate revenue for Australia.
“The other place in WA is RAAF Base Curtin, which is in Derby, but that’s much more seasonal. For six months of the year, the north of Australia is cyclonic, and it’s very difficult to operate in, whereas Learmonth is just south of cyclone alley area, and it doesn’t have the huge tides, and it doesn’t have the massive challenges around half the year.
“The last time there was a major tri-service exercise by the ADF in the Pilbara, I was there in the 1980s, so that’s pretty scary to comment about.”
