In a significant development, the Australian Government has unveiled plans to construct approximately 500 new homes in Townsville. This initiative, led by Defence Housing Australia (DHA), aims to provide housing for Defence Force personnel and their families, as well as to bolster the local housing market. The announcement was made by Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Defence.

“This project represents a substantial investment in the Townsville community,” stated Thistlethwaite. “Defence Housing Australia has gone out to the market to construct about 500 new properties here in Townsville. This initiative not only supports our Defence personnel and their families but also addresses the local housing demand, benefiting the broader community.”

The construction of these 500 homes is scheduled to take place over the next five years. One of the key sites for this development is Aitkenvale, where 140 homes will be built near Ross River. “Plans for Aitkenvale are about to be announced, with the tender process beginning in the coming months. Half of these homes will be allocated for Defence housing, while the other half will be available to the local community,” Thistlethwaite explained.

The project opens significant opportunities for local businesses and investors. DHA has issued an expression of interest for the construction of these homes, which includes both Greenfield developments and existing properties. “There’s a big opportunity for investors and local businesses to either construct new homes or provide them from the existing housing stock,” Thistlethwaite noted.

With Townsville currently experiencing a 1% vacancy rate in properties, this initiative aims to alleviate housing pressures. “Defence Housing Australia is constructing additional properties to ensure we meet the increasing demand as more troops move to the area over the next five years,” said Thistlethwaite. He also highlighted that Defence currently manages around 1250 properties in Townsville, with about 100 currently vacant, providing some immediate capacity before new constructions are completed.

Townsville has long been recognized as a crucial garrison town, and its strategic importance has only increased with the announcement of the National Defence Strategy, which will see additional troops rotating into the area. “This isn’t an immediate influx, but a gradual increase over the next four to five years, giving us time to plan and build the necessary infrastructure,” Thistlethwaite assured.

Addressing concerns about the impact on current residents, particularly in areas like Aitkenvale, Thistlethwaite clarified, “In Aitkenvale, many of the properties are in a state of disrepair and uninhabitable due to natural disasters and lack of upgrades. Current residents will have been notified, and new, modern homes will be constructed to replace these old ones.”

For families relocating to Townsville, Thistlethwaite’s message is one of reassurance. “No one is being forced to relocate. This is part of the normal posting process of the Australian Defence Force. We are ensuring that there will be adequate, high-quality housing available for those who choose to move here, allowing them to enjoy rewarding careers in this vibrant community.”

This extensive housing project underscores the government’s commitment to supporting its Defence personnel while simultaneously addressing local housing challenges, promising a brighter future for Townsville’s residents.

The Australian Army is inviting experts from the defense industry and universities to come up with new ideas to help soldiers operate better in coastal areas for Army Innovation Day 2024 (AID24). This event, held every year, is a partnership between the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and the Australian Army, aimed at creating advanced technologies to tackle the Army’s toughest challenges.

AID24 will take place during the Chief of Army Symposium at the Land Forces 2024 International Land Defence Exposition in Melbourne on September 11-12, 2024. Major General Richard Vagg, Head of Land Capability, explained that this year’s theme, “Optimising the Soldier for Littoral Operations,” is about quickly providing new tools and technologies to soldiers to enhance their capabilities.

“The Australian Army needs to be strong and flexible, able to prevent threats and play a crucial role in the Indo-Pacific region,” said MAJGEN Vagg. “Our soldiers are our greatest asset, and making them more effective is our top priority.”

This year’s focus is on using innovative technologies to boost soldiers’ stamina, effectiveness, and safety in coastal and complex environments. “We aim to get these new capabilities to our soldiers as quickly as possible,” MAJGEN Vagg added.

ED: This article came into my inbox over the weekend, I know who sent it but don’t know who the author is.

When the history of the decline and fall of the great nation that was Australia is written, how will scholars trace its downward spiral?

Will they tag that point at which a vast percentage of the workforce became so lazy and ill-disciplined that it could no longer entertain the thought of travelling to the workplace and demanded to work from home.

Get up, shower, get dressed and walk to the bus stop? You must be joking.

Employers, led by governments, buckled to their demands and what was a Covid-convenience became regarded as an absolute right.

Lifestyle, the historians will note, became the worker’s mantra which superseded diligence and dedication with heavy penalties imposed on those bosses who dared contact an employee one minute after their official clock-off time.

“More money, less work” they chanted as they logged off and stretched back on the couch.

“More money, less work” said the unions and the government said “No worries, comrades” as productivity slipped lower and then lower again.

Maybe they will chart it as beginning at that time when people became so lazy that they could no longer be bothered to prepare meals and instead headed for the nearest takeaway outlet and then, tiring of the effort involved in so doing, picked up their phones and had their calorie laden meals delivered to their doors.

More food, less effort they sighed sinking once more onto the couch and the nation got fatter and fatter and fatter.

Perhaps the historians will chart this decline from the moment that a prime minister embraced lying as a virtue and the masses, in exchange for a handful of government largesse, nodded dumbly and pocketed the proffered coins.

Others might wonder if the moral rot took hold when governments failed to act against the murderous, hateful outpourings from some Muslim clerics, fearful that if it did, it might cost it votes in those electorates with a high proportion of Muslims.

Most people, either ignorant or too self-obsessed to care shrugged at these outrages and went back to moaning about the price of petrol and groceries.

Holocaust? That’s history, mate. Nothing to do with me.

It was when mobs roamed the streets, others might suggest, assaulting and robbing the innocent while the system supposed to deliver justice and protect them smiled and said: “They’re juveniles. They know not what they do. Release them” that the once great society began to crumble.

It was the concept of two Australia’s, other historians might argue, that divided and weakened the nation’s underpinnings for a nation divided cannot but fall.

As they trawl through the archives, they will find that the country became split between the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous, the former demanding special treatment and the latter sensing this went against the principles of democracy.

These historians will pore over the results of the Voice referendum and wonder why, when the people had made their wishes clear, the demands for two classes of Australians to exist continued and with them demands for money and land. The governments folded and gave away more money and signed away vast tracts of the country and the people’s discontent smouldered and their resentment grew.

Scholars might also note that the nation began its decline at the same time that the churches began to empty and the sports stadiums filled as sport became the new religion.

Grateful for this distraction from the reality of economic decline, politicians built bigger and better stadiums and states outbid each other for the right to hold games, premiers and prime ministers sitting in the grandstands like latter day emperors as the gladiators took to the field and the crowd roared as the country grew poorer and poorer.

Scholars wondering why, as the wheels of industry began to slow, the government did nothing to avert the looming crisis may find the answer in the cries of the people who demanded more handouts and more subsidies.

So the government gave them more money and they smiled and settled once more back on the couch. “More money, less work” they sighed.

The scholars will also find images of the giant windmills that began to cover the landscape as power stations closed and the country’s leaders held hands and cried “net zero, net zero” and as they did the lights went out for the last time and darkness enveloped the land and the great country that was once Australia was no more.

Ship’s company of HMAS Anzac (III) said a fond farewell to the Anzac-class frigate in a decommissioning ceremony at HMAS Stirling in Perth on 18 May 2024. The ceremony concluded the Royal Australian Navy ship’s 28 years of distinguished service. HMAS Anzac is being decommissioned to make way for the new and evolved fleet. The decommissioning event included speeches and a cake- cutting ceremony.

After a recent summit, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin issued a brief statement: “There can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should never be fought.” This message, though universally accepted, seems hypocritical given their past threats of nuclear aggression against neighbouring countries.

The timing and brevity of this statement are notable, as global tensions are at a peak with conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Putin feels he is winning in Ukraine, while Xi believes China’s military dominance in the South China Sea makes a Taiwan takeover feasible. Both fear U.S. and NATO intervention, which could lead to nuclear threats.

Their warnings echo in a world where North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan frequently make threats. Iran recently attacked Israel with a massive missile strike and claims to be near developing nuclear weapons, regularly threatening to destroy Israel.

Many dismiss these threats as mere bluster. However, the horrific violence seen on October 7 against Israeli civilians reminds us of humanity’s capacity for brutality. Modern weapons of mass destruction—nuclear, chemical, biological, and AI-driven—make these threats more dangerous.

Despite these risks, global reactions remain indifferent, assuming these leaders wouldn’t initiate catastrophic conflicts. Yet, there are as many autocratic nuclear powers as democratic ones. Only Israel has an effective missile defence system. As Western conventional power declines, reliance on nuclear deterrence grows, despite inadequate homeland defences.

We need to remain aware that the unthinkable can happen. We must take threats seriously and focus on strengthening defences, securing borders, ensuring military competence, controlling spending, and rebuilding our forces. Otherwise, we risk being unprepared for the catastrophic, believing we are immune until it’s too late.

A leader with guts, something we don’t have today!

CLICK LINK to watch

MOV_8311

Please find 14 minutes out of your day to watch this.

Below is a YouTube link to an Audio-Visual presentation which portrays the historical significance of Australia’s involvement during the Vietnam War. The orchestral recording, titled “Echoes of Conflict”, was composed by Vietnam Veteran Lachlan Wilson and is a musical reflection of the dramatic events surrounding many young Australians during the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War.

The LARGEST Ship in The Navy Has A GIANT Problem. Today’s video will analyze the different technologies that make the Ford-class aircraft carrier so great. But in order to understand that, we will look at why the Navy needed to replace tried-and-true technology in the first place. Despite the great strides made in creating this technology, we will also examine why Ford continues to suffer issues with several of its flagship systems.

Managing negative emotions, particularly anger, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer. Anger often manifests physically with a red face, sweating, weakness, and stomach upset. These symptoms can damage blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

A study published on May 1 in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that anger impairs blood vessel function, lasting 40 minutes. The study, involving 280 adults assigned to tasks inducing anger, anxiety, or sadness, showed no significant vascular changes for anxiety or sadness. Dr. Daichi Shimbo from Columbia University noted that anger-induced blood vessel dysfunction is linked to heart attacks and strokes. Dr. Glenn Levine of Baylor College of Medicine emphasized the impact of mental well-being on cardiovascular health.

Harvard’s systematic review revealed a 4.74 times higher risk of heart attack and a 3.62 times higher risk of stroke within two hours of an anger outburst. The intensity of anger correlates with increased risks of ventricular arrhythmia and other heart issues.

Frequent anger episodes also raise the risk of heart disease and cancer mortality. A European Heart Journal study showed that middle-aged and elderly individuals with frequent intense anger had a higher risk of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and cardiovascular disease mortality. Men showed a 30% increase in heart failure risk, while those with diabetes showed a 39% increase.

Depression and anxiety also elevate heart attack and stroke risks by about 35%, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in 2023. These conditions accelerate the development of risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes.

Interventions to promote psychological health can benefit cardiovascular health. Dr. Jingduan Yang of the Yang Institute of Integrative Medicine suggests managing anger through mindfulness, healthy relationships, compassion, and practical techniques like deep breathing. Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been shown to be as effective as medication for anxiety disorders. Social connections also significantly impact physical health, with social isolation linked to a 30% higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Practicing forgiveness can reduce anxiety and depression, enhancing mental well-being.