Mr BARRETT - 2015-03-26
Can you please provide an update on the latest developments at the Darwin Business Park at East Arm and the extent of investment these new developments will bring to the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his question. He is very interested in East Arm and how it is developing. Like me, he knows East Arm is a critical part of the architecture of the Northern Territory economy. The bigger the port at East Arm is the better we can support jobs and growth in the Territory.
I am pleased to announce that yet another great investment has been secured at the Darwin Business Park with Charter Hall investing $27m in a 4 ha industrial lot that will host Northline’s new transport hub. Charter Hall is a leading Australian property investment group with total managed funds of around $13bn. This investor has indicated it is looking for additional investment opportunities of this type in the Northern Territory, which is great news for our local industries and businesses which are looking to grow and expand.
The new Northline development will be a huge asset, growing business capacity and contributing to the Northern Territory’s economic development, and creating jobs for Territorians. During the construction phase over 300 construction jobs will be involved in this project. Once complete, Northline will employ in excess of 80 staff at the East Arm transportation hub. The 14 795 m2 development marks a significant expansion of Northline’s national transport and logistics capacity, complementing its existing facilities in other major capital and regional cities around the nation.
Northline has been operating in the Territory for over 30 years providing transport and freight logistics services to Darwin, as well as many regional and remote communities. It is encouraging to see it expanding on this scale. The development features an innovative design, enabling Northline to operate in all weather conditions to take advantage of East Arm’s strategic location in close proximity to the port, rail and road infrastructure.
Projects like this demonstrate increasing business confidence in Darwin and the Northern Territory. While I am talking about business confidence, to my parliamentary colleagues and employees of the Northern Territory public service, congratulations. We are now sitting at a business confidence rate of somewhere near 43%, leading the nation not only in the strength of the economy, in the labour force participation rate and the unemployment rate, but also in business confidence, which is a sure sign of how well things are ticking across.
We are ensuring there are jobs for Territorians for the future. This $27m investment for Northline’s new transportation hub is another tick in the box that shows things are getting bigger and better. Member for Blain, I once again thank you for your question. It is about jobs and about saying the port at East Arm is an essential and critical piece of the economic infrastructure of the Territory. We have to grow it and get bigger and better all in the name of jobs.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his question. He is very interested in East Arm and how it is developing. Like me, he knows East Arm is a critical part of the architecture of the Northern Territory economy. The bigger the port at East Arm is the better we can support jobs and growth in the Territory.
I am pleased to announce that yet another great investment has been secured at the Darwin Business Park with Charter Hall investing $27m in a 4 ha industrial lot that will host Northline’s new transport hub. Charter Hall is a leading Australian property investment group with total managed funds of around $13bn. This investor has indicated it is looking for additional investment opportunities of this type in the Northern Territory, which is great news for our local industries and businesses which are looking to grow and expand.
The new Northline development will be a huge asset, growing business capacity and contributing to the Northern Territory’s economic development, and creating jobs for Territorians. During the construction phase over 300 construction jobs will be involved in this project. Once complete, Northline will employ in excess of 80 staff at the East Arm transportation hub. The 14 795 m2 development marks a significant expansion of Northline’s national transport and logistics capacity, complementing its existing facilities in other major capital and regional cities around the nation.
Northline has been operating in the Territory for over 30 years providing transport and freight logistics services to Darwin, as well as many regional and remote communities. It is encouraging to see it expanding on this scale. The development features an innovative design, enabling Northline to operate in all weather conditions to take advantage of East Arm’s strategic location in close proximity to the port, rail and road infrastructure.
Projects like this demonstrate increasing business confidence in Darwin and the Northern Territory. While I am talking about business confidence, to my parliamentary colleagues and employees of the Northern Territory public service, congratulations. We are now sitting at a business confidence rate of somewhere near 43%, leading the nation not only in the strength of the economy, in the labour force participation rate and the unemployment rate, but also in business confidence, which is a sure sign of how well things are ticking across.
We are ensuring there are jobs for Territorians for the future. This $27m investment for Northline’s new transportation hub is another tick in the box that shows things are getting bigger and better. Member for Blain, I once again thank you for your question. It is about jobs and about saying the port at East Arm is an essential and critical piece of the economic infrastructure of the Territory. We have to grow it and get bigger and better all in the name of jobs.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016