The inaugural Townsville Defence Forum will be a localised policy-driven forum. The event will focus on fostering relationships between government, PRIMEs & SMEs to deliver Australia’s sovereign capability and act as a driver for the region’s economy. It will assess how best SMEs can enter supply chains, look at current and emerging opportunities for contracting with Defence, and analyse the skilling requirements that will enable the region to thrive as a future Defence Industry hub.
The Forum will hear from senior Defence personnel, industry and state and regional government.
WELCOME RECEPTION
Sunday 24th July 2022
18:00 – 19:30
The Ville Resort-Casino, QLD
This is your opportunity to relax with friends and colleagues and to
make new connections ahead of the ADM Townsville Defence Forum.
Welcome Address from Councillor Jenny Hill, Mayor of Townsville

Speakers
Councillor Jenny Hill
Mayor,
City of Townsville
LTGEN (RTD) John Caligari AO DSC
Defence Sector Strategic Advisor, Townsville City Council
Dr Anna Hayes
Senior Lecturer Political Science, James Cook University; Senior Fellow, East Asia Security Centre
COL (RTD) David Burke
Managing Director, NQ Spark
Gill Savage
Senior Fellow, Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre
Kate Sullivan
Defence Industry Adviser, Office of Defence Industry Support, Department of Defence
Millie Keating
Industry Development Unit Manager, Hanwha Defence Australia
Crissy Avery
Skills Development and Training Officer, Townsville Manufacturing Hub, Department of Regional Development, Queensland
Amy Lever
Manager, Defence Industry Hub, Department of State Development, Queensland
Melanie Olsen
Project Director, ReefWorks, Australian Institute of Marine Science
Adam Packer
Director, TEi Services
AGENDA | MONDAY 25 JULY 2022
8:40
Opening remarks from the Chair
8:50
Welcome Address |
Councillor Jenny Hill, Mayor, City of Townsville
9:00
KEYNOTE | Understanding Townsville’s significance as a key strategic Defence Hub
- How the Townsville Defence Strategy will enable the region to deliver crucial Defence Capability
- Why Townsville is the location of choice for allied forces training, an Army home base, and the ADF Forward
Mounting Base - Executing the strategic goals, initiative and plan. Where are we at?
LTGEN (RTD) John Caligari AO DSC, Defence Sector Strategic
Advisor, Townsville City Council
9:30
ANALYSIS | Assessing future military risk to Northern Australia and understanding Queensland’s preparedness and capability
- What role does the north play in Australia’s security?
- How equipped is the North, and Queensland in particular, to sustain an attack?
- Assessing current and future risks including cyber
Gill Savage, Senior Fellow, Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre
10:00
ANALYSIS | Analysing China’s grand strategy under Xi Jinping and the implications for the region
- Unpicking the China and Solomon Islands Pact and its impact on Australia and the South Pacific
- Assessing the prospects for the deployment of Chinese troops in the region and a new naval base in the Pacific
- Solomon today, where next?
- Regional responses from the US, Australia and their allies
Dr Anna Hayes, Senior Lecturer Political Science, James Cook
University; Senior Fellow, East Asia Security Centre
10:30
Morning Tea
11:00
CASE STUDY | Development of NQ Spark
- Update on the development of the North Queensland Simulation Park
- Aligning innovators and problem solvers to research, test and operationalise the latest Defence technologies
- Just the spark to ensure Townsville’s future capacity to deliver cutting-edge Defence projects
COL (RTD) David Burke, Managing Director, NQ Spark
11:30
CASE STUDY | Developing Australia’s foremost marine autonomous systems industry hub
- How ReefWorks offers a national capability to safely test marine technologies, uncrewed systems and new sensors in a tropical marine environment
- Digital twins of test ranges for uncrewed systems and sensor developers and regulators
- Enabling an evergreening autonomous systems industry through a seamless transition from simulated to real world environments, efficient and accessible tropical test and evaluation, and detailed performance analyses.
- Removing regulatory barriers to maturing artificially-intelligent autonomous systems and swarms by providing a safe environment for unproven marine technology test and evaluation
- Enabling cross domain industry collaboration in autonomous systems by interfacing with the Queensland Flight Test Range in Cloncurry and NQ SPARK to accelerate sovereign capability development, based in Australia’s largest garrison city
Melanie Olsen, Project Director, ReefWorks, Australian Institute of Marine Science
12:00
Lunch
13:00
CASE STUDY | Enhancing access to supply chains
Millie Keating, Industry Development Unit Manager, Hanwha Defence Australia
13:20
PANEL DISCUSSION | Enhancing access to supply chains
- Understanding the impediments to accessing supply chains and how best to overcome them?
- Challenges in the Defence Export space
- Ensuring compliance with supply chain security protocols
Adam Packer, Director, TEi Services
Kate Sullivan, Defence Industry Adviser, Office of Defence Industry Support, Department of Defence
Millie Keating, Industry Development Unit Manager, Hanwha Defence Australia
14:00
Afternoon Tea
14:30
CASE STUDY | Developing Australia’s Defence Capability in North Queensland
14:50
PANEL DISCUSSION | Skilling North Queensland’s Defence Industry
- How equipped is the local population to meet the skilling needs of the Defence industry over the next 30 years?
- What skillsets are industry craving but finding supply difficult?
- What policy developments will ensure that the next generation will have the requisite skills to ensure the growth of Queensland’s Defence industry?
Amy Lever, Manager, Defence Industry Hub, Department of State Development, Queensland
Crissy Avery, Skills Development and Training Officer, Townsville Manufacturing Hub, Department of Regional Development, Queensland
15:30
Closing remarks from the Chair and Networking Drinks
Venue
The Ville Resort-Casino
Sir Leslie Thiess Dr, Townsville QLD 4810
(07) 4722 2333
www.the-ville.com.au
Book accommodation with HotelMaps
To access the best available rate, book here.
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