Dr Kelly visits Robertson Barracks and HMAS Coonawarra
22 April 2010
The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, Dr Mike Kelly and the Member for Solomon, Damian Hale, today visited Robertson Barracks, home of the Australian Army's 1st Brigade, and HMAS Coonawarra near Darwin
Whilst at the Barracks, Dr Kelly took the opportunity to meet with both senior Army leadership and the soldiers.
"Visits such as this are a great opportunity for me to meet with the men and women who serve our country so well." Dr Kelly said. "It allows me to speak with them at the coal face and keep up to date with the great work of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)."
Robertson Barracks is in the process of receiving over $70 million worth of infrastructure upgrades and Dr Kelly was able to examine the areas where these projects will benefit both the ADF and the local community and businesses.
"Since becoming the Member for Solomon I have worked closely with ADF members and their families in Darwin, to represent their interests to my colleagues," Mr Hale said.
The Parliamentary Secretary also took the opportunity to address the soldiers as they prepare for ANZAC Day on the weekend.
"I think it is vitally important that our soldiers hear from those people who represent them and the larger defence organisation in Canberra. Many of the soldiers at Robertson are preparing to deploy later in the year to overseas missions including Afghanistan and Timor Leste, upholding a fine tradition of operational deployment," Dr Kelly said.
"I particularly wanted to pass on the Government's thanks for the challenging work ADF members are undertaking across the globe."
After his time at Robertson Barracks, the Parliamentary Secretary moved to HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin and met with the senior ADF representative in the Northern Territory, Captain Tony O'Malley, RAN, Acting Commander Northern Command.
Dr Kelly took the opportunity to meet with officers and sailors from the Darwin based Patrol Boat fleet. "These men and women are incredibly busy at the moment, patrolling the waters off Northern Australia. They have an incredibly important job to do and they are doing it exceptionally well." Dr Kelly said.
