Mr MITCHELL - 2000-06-20
The Australian Labor Party has called the Alice to Darwin railway a faded dream and I ask the minister if he believes that that is the view of the Northern Territory business community?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, we do know that Labor’s statement that the railway is a faded dream really epitomises the lack of determination, the lack of foresight and the lack of fight in the lot opposite. In fact, to call it a faded dream in my view is to give up and we know that Labor drops the ball when the going gets tough. For the benefit of members I remind Labor that this government and Territory businesses are 100% in favour of the railway.
Last Saturday, the member for Katherine, the Deputy Chief Minister, hosted a railway seminar in Katherine and over 100 business people attended that seminar to be brought up to date with the latest on the railway. The following day, I attended, along with the Deputy Chief Minister, the Katherine Expo, a very good Expo, an excellent Expo, and both the dedicated railway stand and my own Department of Industries and Business’ stand was virtually knocked over by people who wanted more information regarding the railway.
Two weeks ago, the Deputy Chief Minister led a delegation to Queensland to look at the sleeper plant in Townsville. That delegation comprised members of the Katherine and the Tennant Creek Chambers of Commerce and Industry and they came away very impressed by the Townsville factory after a very comprehensive tour of that facility. But what is more impressive is that the sleeper plant in Katherine will be twice the size of that Townsville plant producing some 1800 sleepers a day. The Tennant Creek plant will be nearly three times the size producing 2400 sleepers a day. If that is the stuff of faded dreams, then I think Labor needs to go back and have a rethink.
Apart from the Townsville visit, for the benefit of members on our side of the House, I will highlight some of the developments on the rail project being coordinated by my Department of Industries and Business Major Project Support Unit. Apart from the estimated 1300 direct jobs that will be created from the rail project, we have gained a commitment from the Rail Consortium that its construction head office will be in Darwin. More than 300 NT businesses have registered with the NTISO to ensure they maximise their opportunities for work. A network of training providers in conjunction with NTETA has been working with the Territory Construction Association on likely labour and training needs that will arise. My Department of Industries and Business has tailor made business growth programs to provide assistance to businesses which will allow them to engage specialist business improvement consultants to prepare their businesses for opportunities associated with the rail.
With contractual close of the rail expected shortly, NT businesses are being provided with up-to-date information through regular bulletins and, certainly, through the Internet. In the next financial year alone around $230m will be spent in the Northern Territory on this particular project. Of that, around $130m in the Tennant Creek region, $78m in the Katherine region, $14m on logistics and some $6m in Darwin on various projects including the railhead and consortium office.
Territorians and Territory businesses are eagerly awaiting the coming of the new financial year because it will go down in history as the period in which the rail project started. Our Territory businesses, with the assistance of this government, will be rail ready. I know that Territorians know that what the real faded dream in the Territory is and it is not running on railway tracks and it is not running on diesel locomotive fuel. It runs on hot air and it sits on the opposite side of this House. The Australian Labor Party - that is the faded dream.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, we do know that Labor’s statement that the railway is a faded dream really epitomises the lack of determination, the lack of foresight and the lack of fight in the lot opposite. In fact, to call it a faded dream in my view is to give up and we know that Labor drops the ball when the going gets tough. For the benefit of members I remind Labor that this government and Territory businesses are 100% in favour of the railway.
Last Saturday, the member for Katherine, the Deputy Chief Minister, hosted a railway seminar in Katherine and over 100 business people attended that seminar to be brought up to date with the latest on the railway. The following day, I attended, along with the Deputy Chief Minister, the Katherine Expo, a very good Expo, an excellent Expo, and both the dedicated railway stand and my own Department of Industries and Business’ stand was virtually knocked over by people who wanted more information regarding the railway.
Two weeks ago, the Deputy Chief Minister led a delegation to Queensland to look at the sleeper plant in Townsville. That delegation comprised members of the Katherine and the Tennant Creek Chambers of Commerce and Industry and they came away very impressed by the Townsville factory after a very comprehensive tour of that facility. But what is more impressive is that the sleeper plant in Katherine will be twice the size of that Townsville plant producing some 1800 sleepers a day. The Tennant Creek plant will be nearly three times the size producing 2400 sleepers a day. If that is the stuff of faded dreams, then I think Labor needs to go back and have a rethink.
Apart from the Townsville visit, for the benefit of members on our side of the House, I will highlight some of the developments on the rail project being coordinated by my Department of Industries and Business Major Project Support Unit. Apart from the estimated 1300 direct jobs that will be created from the rail project, we have gained a commitment from the Rail Consortium that its construction head office will be in Darwin. More than 300 NT businesses have registered with the NTISO to ensure they maximise their opportunities for work. A network of training providers in conjunction with NTETA has been working with the Territory Construction Association on likely labour and training needs that will arise. My Department of Industries and Business has tailor made business growth programs to provide assistance to businesses which will allow them to engage specialist business improvement consultants to prepare their businesses for opportunities associated with the rail.
With contractual close of the rail expected shortly, NT businesses are being provided with up-to-date information through regular bulletins and, certainly, through the Internet. In the next financial year alone around $230m will be spent in the Northern Territory on this particular project. Of that, around $130m in the Tennant Creek region, $78m in the Katherine region, $14m on logistics and some $6m in Darwin on various projects including the railhead and consortium office.
Territorians and Territory businesses are eagerly awaiting the coming of the new financial year because it will go down in history as the period in which the rail project started. Our Territory businesses, with the assistance of this government, will be rail ready. I know that Territorians know that what the real faded dream in the Territory is and it is not running on railway tracks and it is not running on diesel locomotive fuel. It runs on hot air and it sits on the opposite side of this House. The Australian Labor Party - that is the faded dream.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016