Singapore military exercise fires up regional economy in central Queensland
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The Singapore Armed Forces have brought in tanks for Exercise Wallaby. (Flickr: Cyberpioneer)
An influx of 6,000 soldiers from Singapore is expected to inject millions of dollars into Queensland's economy over the next two months.
The Singapore Armed Forces have been conducting Exercise Wallaby at Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton every year for more than 20 years.
This year's exercise started at the weekend.
Capricorn Enterprise chief executive Mary Carroll said the exercise generated much-needed revenue for local businesses.
"Transport and logistics, suppliers, whether it be linen services through to food obviously," she said.
"Services on the ground, then you've got the infrastructure, suppliers or contractors who assist in the construction and the upgrade of roads and facilities up there.
"The Singapore Armed Forces' impact to the region in economic terms is about $35 million a year.
"That's not just the logistics and all the components of their training, but also their … rest and relaxation program as well."
Ms Carroll said the soldiers also enjoyed retail therapy after they finished their military duties.
"They love shopping, they love air conditioning, and a number of the shops do very well during their visit here," she said.
"We've had many years in the region, a great relationship with Singapore Armed Forces, and we certainly value not just the economic input but their friendship.
"Over the years on very special occasions, their military bands have come over and performed for our local communities, and the cultural respect between the two nations I think is very commendable."
Employment boost for local workers
Transport company Rocky's Own has been working with Singapore Armed Forces for 21 years.
Chief executive Bryan Smith said it was a busy time for the company.
"We have a 72-hour window to move the equipment, and generally we move in somewhere between 300 to 400 loads of equipment into the military training area in that period of time," he said.
"Heavy machinery, including tanks and military vehicles, shipping containers and everything in between.
"This time of the year we can take on anything up to seven to eight casuals throughout the period. We bring additional contractors into the business."
One of those casual workers is Adrian Barnett.
"We're building a water truck to cart water in to the camps of Camp Growl and Samuel Hill, so we'll be maintaining their water supply during the exercise," he said.
"Normally I've been asked to load and unload their army gear, and this year I've got a new opportunity to cart water in there, so it is exciting work.
"It's hard work. You're out in the bulldust and the hot sun all day, so it's not for the faint-hearted either.
"You've got to be pretty tough to put up with the conditions down there."
Another business to benefit from the military exercise is a Rockhampton gymnasium.
Manager Bec McDonald said she began a marketing campaign on social media after being approached by soldiers from Singapore looking for ways to maintain their fitness while in Queensland.
"This whole deal started when one of them approached us to say 'I'm going to be in town for a month, so what can you do for me?'" she said.
"We thought there's a demand here, he's not the only one, and it just spurred something and we thought, hang on, let's do something.
"I think it will help the business have an influx of cash quickly.
"I think it'll definitely help the local economy, because if anything it's not so much a job for them to come over, it's a holiday."
Plans for future expansion
Singapore's military training is set to expand under measures announced by the Federal Government earlier this year.
Ms Carroll said there would be two training periods each year from 2017, in Shoalwater Bay and Townsville.
"The training will increase to about 14,000 troops, but they'll be split into two training exercises, the first between February and May, and the second between August and November," she said.
"With the training split into two periods next year as opposed to one, I actually think that's going to be very beneficial for our regional economy, not just the increase in numbers of troops, but spreading that economic impact across the year.
"And also there's the $1 billion worth of infrastructure that's going to be implemented, a lot of which will be the Shoalwater Bay military training area in their combat zones, resurfacing of the roads, upgrading of their facilities etcetera.
"So we're talking with our federal counterparts to make sure that our local suppliers can benefit as much as possible from that."
Topics: defence-forces, regional-development, rockhampton-4700, shoalwater-4702, singapore
