Cr Jeff Whitton urging Orange City Council to explore defence industry options

Cr Jeff Whitton has submitted a motion for this Tuesday's council meeting that Orange City Council formulates a working party to position the city and the central west as strategic sovereign partner with the Australian Defence Forces.

"The goal is to attract the ADF to look to Orange in locating manufacturing, logistics, tactical and operational facilities and promote supply-chain capability, in the critical areas of innovation and technology, engaging with the existing local supply chain," Cr Whitton's motion reads.

Cr Whitton said Orange's infrastructure and the expertise within its existing industry could place it in a position to link with defence primes Thales, Lockheed-Martin and BAE.

"The Australian Government and defence forces are shaping and nurturing a sovereign supply chain from Australian companies with strong expertise in advanced high-value, high-skills manufacturing and research and development Innovation and technology," Cr Whitton said.

"We ought to engage with the ADF and promote an ecosystem of locally based firms in Orange and the surrounding central west region who have an interest in diversifying into defence or, for those who are already established in the industry, to increase their interest in a $195+ billion defence market."

Orange's airport and council's ownership of land around it, the city's position on a rail fork and Mount Canobolas could make it attractive to defence manufacturers, but the Cr Whitton said the city needed to sell itself.

"These are all the things they want to encapsulate and they don't know what's out there and they want to know.

"[They want to know] What are the organisations and what is the expertise of this community. What do we have to offer the Primes. in knowledge and manpower.

"They are going to need strategic transportation points, rail infrastructure, road and we have an up-to-date airport that can facilitate large aircraft and we have land around the airport that be used for maintenance facilities.

"Mount Canobolas is already strategic for a number of industries."

Cr Whitton said he refined the idea after attending the Hunter Defence forum which was addressed by former Major General Tony Fraser who spoke on the topic of supply chain projects.

He added groups like Business Orange and mining and manufacturing collectives should be involved in the working party.

"It's just a really interesting time, it's not a matter of Orange being turned into a military base ... this day and age you don't need to have any type of military infrastructure to be a target."

Defence spending topped out at $48.6 billion in the 2022 Federal Budget this week.

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