CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr HAWKE (Mitchell) (10:16): I rise today to condemn the federal government's decisions to totally sell and divest Timor Barracks in Dundas, New South Wales. It's in the electorate of Parramatta but very significant to north-west Sydney as part of its Defence estate audit property. Timor Barracks is the secure, purpose built home to the major national command elements of the Australian Army Reserve and 200 youth cadets, dismantling a regional brigade headquarters—Timor Barracks is the official national headquarters—for this vital formation.
When we think about Australia's military history, all the modern military history that we lionise is conduct from the citizen soldier, the reservists. From World War I and World War II, people who volunteered stepped up and fought wars to protect their country. Today, we have a standing force, but Australia will never have the capacity to have such a large force that we can win wars with that force alone.
We will require our citizens to volunteer, step up and get involved—to want to defend this country, and it's as vital a part of our defence as our standing and regular armies. When you hear that the 322 Squadron, the Air Force Cadets there, recently turned away 256 local youth applicants due to space constraints already—they've already got hundreds of youth cadets on the site—how could Defence propose to divest this vital youth endeavour?
We want our young people invested in cadets. We want our young people invested in Defence. We want them to value our society, want to protect it, and be able to step up and have the capacity to train, do their employment, make their contribution in the economy but be ready to defend this country when they have to.
These plans are retrograde. To sell off these bases is not simply to get a financial sugar hit to the bottom line for the Commonwealth. These units function so effectively because they integrate local communities into Defence seamlessly.
It's young people going into cadets, and young people going into Defence. That's why I joined the petition, as 400 signatories have so far. I grew up in Parramatta, North Parramatta and Dundas Valley.
I say to the member for Parramatta, who's not from the region, that Dundas, the valley, relies on these units. They've always been there. This is one of the oldest headquarters of the oldest formations.
It has hundreds and hundreds of young people parading there, getting invested in the defence of Australia. That's exactly the spirit we want to encourage. This sale of Timor Barracks is retrograde.
It's bad for Defence, it's bad for our youth, and it's bad for our society, just to get a little bit of cash on the bottom line. I ask the Defence minister and say to the member for Parramatta: join your petitioners, get involved with your community here, understand the history, the passion and the relevance to modernity. Young people are being turned away from defending their country because we don't have enough space.
The solution is not to sell Timor Barracks.