Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport- Formerly Mungalalu Truscott Airbase

Great to catch up again with Group RSM RFSG Stephen L. and RSM Scott Myers from the Pilbara Regiment at the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition yesterday. The teams at Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport and Norwest Marine Operations are very proud of the historical and current-day roles our facilities play in supporting Defence Australia operations. And there is still considerable room for growth. With Defence looking to existing civilian infrastructure to help bolster Australia's northern defence outlook, our ability to provide integrated air, land and sea support in the Far North Kimberley and beyond makes us a natural partner. We're keen to keep working with Defence to explore how we can help. More about MNKA: https://bit.ly/4hzvQjY More about NMO: https://bit.ly/4cNxdKP

Many thanks to Sean Smith and The West Australian for reporting on the opportunity for MNKA and Norwest Connect to be a critical hub in Australia’s defence network. As our Managing Director Luke Gleeson says there is huge potential for government and industry to work together in the Far North Kimberley and create a stronger border to our north. The strategic location that led to the establishment of Truscott Airfield during WWII is just as compelling today. Importantly, our infrastructure already exists and is ready to contribute now - avoiding the need to start from scratch and deal with funding and construction lags. Norwest Connect’s capabilities across air, land and sea can provide defence and government with a single, locally controlled logistics node in a remote, complex and critical part of the country. Beyond Defence Australia, we are perfectly placed to serve a range of partners, including: ▪️ The energy sector: $60 billion of infrastructure on our doorstep and more to come. Some 40% of Australia’s undeveloped resources lie in waters off Northern Australia. ▪️ The mining industry: led by VBX Limited, which is developing a billion-dollar, 10-year lifespan, high-grade bauxite mine about 30km away. ▪️ The Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation: our infrastructure and services will unlock long-term opportunities for Traditional Owners, including a federal and state-funded tourism stopover facility that will tap into the 16.5k cruise passengers who transit through our waters each year. Read Sean’s excellent article via the link below. You can learn more about Norwest Connect’s capabilities at https://bit.ly/3VQaqrz https://bit.ly/4iaaJGk

Our Norwest Connect team is at the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition in Perth this week, and enjoyed catching up with the team from Ventia - including National Manager Defence Sustainment Solutions Stephen Densmore. There is a real opportunity to strengthen Australia’s capability and northern defence network by making better use of existing infrastructure like Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport. Turning that potential into reality will require bringing industry and government expertise together and finding practical ways to collaborate towards outcomes that serve the national interest. As one of Australia’s leading infrastructure service providers - with deep expertise in defence - Ventia brings exactly the kind of capability needed to make that collaboration work. We look forward to continuing to build on this week’s conversations. More about MNKA: https://bit.ly/4hzvQjY More about Norwest Connect: https://bit.ly/4z9liz9

Encouraging to have Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and WA Premier Roger Cook highlighting the critical importance of our western frontier to national defence in Perth today. In doing so, they reinforced the enormous value of high-quality strategic assets like ours. Minister Marles made a point that people across Australia's north-west have long understood: "That flank of our continent, from Darwin at one end to Cape Leeuwin at the other, becomes immediately apparent as our front door to the world." Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport and Norwest Marine Operations sit right at that front door. MNKA and NMO provide the Far North Kimberley with integrated air, land and sea capability. Our infrastructure and services are already operating and proven, in one of the most strategically significant and least serviced parts of the country. Defence Australia's ability to project and sustain capability in the north-west depends on the infrastructure on the ground. New bases take considerable time and investment to deliver, but civilian infrastructure like our airport and barge services can add real capability now, at a fraction of the cost. Our facilities stand ready to provide a forward logistics hub, a staging point for regional operations and support for surveillance and response across the north-west approaches. We look forward to continuing to work with Defence and a range of other partners on making this happen. Read the Minister's full speech: https://bit.ly/4hwlkv7 More about MNKA: https://bit.ly/4hzvQjY More about NMO: https://bit.ly/4cNxdKP Rita Saffioti MLA

In 1942, with Darwin under attack, Australia couldn't afford to keep its aircraft in one place. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Raelene Lockhorst GAICD draws on that wartime lesson in her new explainer, Closing the Distance. Truscott Airfield in the North Kimberley was an essential forward base in that northern effort. More than 80 years on, the same thinking is back at the centre of Australia's defence planning - and Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport should be central to it. With a certified Code 3C runway, fuel, ground services and a sea link through Norwest Marine Operations, MNKA gives Defence a forward, highly strategic base for operations across Australia's northern approaches and into the Timor Sea. Darwin and Tindal are the anchors of Australia's northern defence posture. MNKA adds another option on the map, less than 600 km to the west. More about MNKA: https://bit.ly/46jBm5X Access the ASPI explainer: https://bit.ly/47sUjmk

As Nam Nguyen points out in his latest article for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's The Strategist, strategic warning time has shrunk, but Defence procurement timelines haven't. That gap puts a premium on infrastructure that already exists in the north. Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport (MNKA) is operational today. On the Timor Sea, less than 600 km west of Darwin, it has a certified 1,800m Code 3C runway, accommodation, hangars, fuel storage and a sea link through Norwest Marine Operations (NMO). It's ready to support Defence across Australia's northern approaches, with no decade-long acquisition program required. Norwest Connect, owner of MNKA and NMO, looks forward to working with government and Defence Australia to expand what our infrastructure can contribute to Australia's security. The MNKA team will be at the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition in Perth, 6–8 October. Get in touch if you'd like to connect. Read Nam's full article: https://bit.ly/4ddpLZh More about Norwest Connect and MNKA: https://bit.ly/3VQaqrz