Australian PM orders Department of Defence to look elsewhere after backlash against foreign military training plan
Malcolm Turnbull has ordered the Department of Defence to find alternative sites for foreign military training in Queensland after uproar over plans to take over as many as 60 grazing properties in prime cattle country.
This has been a shemozzle from the beginning and there are still big questions to be answered
The controversy prompted Nicholls to write to Turnbull imploring him to step in after what he said was defence’s mishandling of the proposed training site expansion at Shoalwater Bay and near Townsville.
The federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, wrote to Turnbull on Wednesday calling for him to urgently review the matter and explain what “alternatives to acquiring prime grazing land” had been considered. Nicholls’ statement raised doubts about what other options defence, which has compulsory land acquisition powers, had explored to date for expanding training bases to host 14,000 Singapore troops a year.
He said Turnbull had told him during a “lengthy conversation that he has ordered the defence department to scout alternative areas for expanded military training grounds earmarked for central Queensland farming land”.
“We need good relations with allies such as Singapore and the expansion would provide a significant economic boost to local communities but it is equally important to look after our farmers and graziers.”
