Publication:Plan Blue 2006/Fundamental Inputs to Capability - Facilities
| 82 | a | The Future Navy's delivery of operational capability must be assured by the availability of fleet bases, proximate offshore exercise areas and firing ranges in each of Navy's key basing locations in the east, the west and in northern Australia. |
| b | The Future Navy must aim to limit the impact that Navy activities on bases and ranges have on the local community. | |
| c | Future basing and exercise area decisions must take into account potential personnel, training, maintenance and support initiatives which may change demands on Navy's shore infrastructure. | |
| d | The Future Navy must ensure access to ports at home and abroad where there is not an RAN or allied fleet base. | |
| e | The Future Navy must comply with environmental legislation to protect its reputation and maintain access to crucial exercise and training areas. | |
| f | The Future Navy must find maximum efficiencies in its disposition to reduce the cost of ownership of bases and offshore ranges to Defence. |
Guidance
83. Fleet Bases. The Future Navy must optimise its use of existing bases, including joint use where appropriate, to limit its shore footprint and minimise cost and community impact. The location and disposition of Navy's infrastructure will impact, to some extent, on Navy's attractiveness as an employer of choice. Future basing decisions must take into account potential personnel, training, maintenance and support initiatives which may change demands on Navy's shore infrastructure. For example, initiatives could include: multiple crewing, fly-in/fly-out crewing, distributed simulation for weapons and fleet practices, web-based self-service personnel administrative support systems, totally contracted ships maintenance, resupply and fuelling services, and new methods of delivering logistic support.
84. Navy will retain HMAS Kuttabul/Garden Island/Fleet Base East, HMAS Waterhen and HMAS Albatross as they are crucial to the delivery of capability. The naval and civil infrastructure and the extensive contractor and civil support network cannot be replicated elsewhere on the East Coast. In Sydney, urban encroachment is largely complete and is no longer a significant issue. There may be potential for future cost savings and minimising community impact by rationalising Fleet activities and transferring further functions to Garden Island, including those required to support new Sydney-based platforms.
85. Fleet Base West/HMAS Stirling will be Navy's principal base in the West, in accordance with Government's two-ocean policy. There may be some potential to relocate a limited number of shore-based support elements to the West to improve geographic stability for some members.
86. Future Navy requirements in Darwin warrant early consideration to secure long-term access and an appropriate level of support for maritime operations across Australia's northern approaches. Any requirement for new naval facilities[1] in Darwin and Cairns will be to meet the needs of the next generation patrol vessels (post-ACPB), and could involve further re-development of HMAS Cairns and the current Coonawarra/Larrakeyah site. There is currently no strategic imperative to base Major Fleet Units in the north or to establish a new Fleet Base North. In the longer term, further initiatives in ship repair and maintenance and increased ship operational availability, combined with crewing initiatives, may provide an opportunity to reduce Navy maintenance and hotel services infrastructure requirements within Fleet bases.
87. Ranges, Offshore Exercise Areas and Naval Waters. There remains a requirement to conduct realistic, at-sea exercises and weapons firings and shore based weapons firing training. Navy training must be conducted under the most realistic combat conditions possible. The Eastern Australia Exercise Area (EAXA), Western Australia Exercise Area (WAXA) and the North Australia Exercise Area (NAXA) will remain critical to the long-term delivery of Navy capability. Navy must develop long-term management plans for offshore exercise areas to ensure environmental compliance and the accommodation of civil users where necessary.
88. Beecroft, Lancelin, and Townsend Island ranges will remain critical to Navy. However, with improvements in automation, simulation, system built-in tests and significant developments in naval gunfire and missile system capability and reliability, the utilisation of land ranges may reduce in the long-term. The long term role of West Head Gunnery Range will depend on the feasibility of future medium calibre gunnery training being met by simulation and live firings at sea. Navy will need to critically examine land bombardment range requirements accordingly while balancing the requirement to conduct single service and joint collective training under the realistic conditions that live firings create. Navy is not the only user of these ranges and any review must involve the other Services, appropriate enabling organisations and possibly allied range users.
89. Navy must continually examine its requirements for declaration and activation of Naval Waters, ensuring that they are the minimum required for the safe and secure operation of the Fleet.
90. Training Infrastructure Rationalisation. Navy's future training infrastructure ashore must aim to optimise utilisation of bases in order to reduce our shore footprint and maximise co-location with ship's home-porting where practicable. The following factors will be critical: retaining synergies between training activities; maintaining access to the waterfront for trainees; the potential savings to be derived from advanced training systems; minimising the cost of ownership of bases; trainee travel and staff removal costs; and, the potential impact of base dispositions on recruiting and retention. Navy's requirements continue to include the need to retain, in their present locations, the vital training and support functions performed by HMAS Cerberus, Creswell, Harman, Watson and Penguin, plus the ammunitioning wharf and facilities at Eden.
91. Commercial Port Access. Commercial development will impact on Navy's access to port facilities. Australia's seaborne trade is increasing in both quantity and volume, reflecting an overall global increase. This is placing demands on the ship building industry to build more and larger ships, with a resultant need for further development of some ports to accommodate these new vessels. Port infrastructure planning is based on current and future demands of commercial shipping and trade; Navy's infrastructure requirements are not considered in the port plans, which extend to 25 years and beyond. This increased demand for access by commercial vessels, and their changing infrastructure requirements, means that access for naval ships will become more difficult and potentially more expensive to obtain in some locations. The long-term access to facilities in ports without Fleet bases is critical to the ongoing delivery of Navy capability and Navy's support to the other Services, particularly Army. In the face of increasing commercial and urban pressure, access to critical ports such as Townsville, Darwin and Dampier must be maintained or developed where required. Navy and enabling organisations must remain engaged with port authorities to articulate those issues critical to the defence of our nation.
92. Environmental compliance. Environmental and legal compliance on and offshore will increasingly impact on Navy's operations and exercise activities, particularly those involving concentrated use of bombing/gunfire support ranges and offshore exercise areas. Navy will also face increasing intrusion from commercial oil/gas and mineral interests, which will often attract a higher national priority. This will require a greater focus on cohabitation to meet Navy's exercise requirements.
Footnotes
- ↑ Facilities includes bases, property, buildings, structures, plant and equipment, exercise areas, firing ranges, utilities and civil engineering works at home and abroad, owned or leased by Defence.
