Queensland has made a powerful bid to attract the Army's premier showcase conference Land Forces 2020 back to Brisbane, which last hosted the event in 2014.
In announcing the Palaszczuk Government’s bid, made in partnership with the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said Queensland is Australia’s number one force in land defence.
"We want to welcome Land Forces back to Australia's natural home for land defence and ensure our local defence industry is able to take pride of place in demonstrating their world-class capabilities," he said.
"Our state is fast cementing itself as a leading centre for defence manufacturing and hosting Land Forces would provide a prime opportunity to highlight the extensive list of reasons why defence business and industry should choose to invest in Queensland.
"Rheinmetall's Boxer and Lynx vehicles were the first on the floor at the Adelaide Convention Centre for this week’s Land Forces 2018 event, and these two Queensland-backed vehicles will no doubt impress.
"With our government’s backing, the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle has already won the $5 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 project, and if we have our way, we will see the impressive Lynx KF41 Infantry Fighting Vehicle rolling off the production line in Queensland as well , sustaining hundreds of highly-skilled jobs for over a decade.
"The Commonwealth Government has opened the formal Request for Tender for LAND 400 Phase 3, estimated to be worth around $15 billion, and we are backing Rheinmetall’s Lynx vehicles all the way to capture this contract, making another major win for Queensland."
Mr Dick said the Land Forces 2014 event in Brisbane drew more than 10,450 attendees, around 460 companies from 22 countries and 32 international delegations.
"The numbers speak for themselves - this is the largest single-service land-defence industry event of its kind in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region, and we want it back in Queensland," he said.
"Queensland’s defence industries employ more than 6,500 people and secured around $9.55 billion in Australian defence contracts in 2017-18, more than doubling the value of contracts awarded the previous year.
"Our state will also soon be home to Rheinmetall’s biggest presence outside of Germany and an industrial hub of research and development which will achieve an average of around 300 direct jobs during the two years of construction and many more ongoing highly-skilled jobs once operational.
"It’s time Land Forces lands back in Queensland as we continue to position the state as the nation’s defence manufacturing powerhouse."
Land Forces 2018 is currently underway in Adelaide.
