Oral Reply by 2nd Minister for Defence Mr Ong Ye Kung to Parliamentary Question on the Australian Government’s Decision to Not Undertake Compulsory Land Acquisition for Enhanced Training Access in Australia

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Defence given that the Australian Government has backed down from compulsory land acquisition in Queensland to provide SAF troops with access to a bigger training area, (a) how will SAF training be affected by the reduction in land size; (b) whether Singapore will be proposing any changes to the agreement with Australia; and (c) whether our proposed spending of A$2.25 billion will be reduced as a result. 

Mr Ong Ye Kung: The Australian Government has given assurance that it remains fully committed to the implementation of enhanced training access for the SAF as laid out in the 2016 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) agreement with Singapore. The Australian Department of Defence also stated publicly on 23 Feb 2017 that it would be able to achieve the training requirements for the Australian Defence Force and SAF under the terms of the CSP without compulsory land acquisition through enhancing existing training areas and a more optimal scheduling of training activities.

The costs of developments for SAF training requirements are still within the budget laid out in the CSP.