Mr HIGGINS - 2014-05-13
Can you outline for the Assembly how Budget 2014-15 will support the development of north Australia?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. I remember many years ago when we first met and we were talking about how to develop the Northern Territory. One of the big things which came up was the importance of building roads and bridges to open up country and invest in parts of the Northern Territory where we have not had the greatest ability of access. It is also important to provide greater levels of connectivity and ensure we can provide a delivery of services and goods to people do not get the opportunity for much of the year. Much of the development of northern Australia has to do with roads and bridges, and I look forward to the announcement about some of the road funding in the budget at 11 am.
We worked hard as a Cabinet and a government in ensuring we had as much money as possible go towards roads and bridges to ensure we can provide connectivity and open up the Territory.
One of the other components about building northern Australia is ensuring we have commercial land available across the Territory. I spoke a bit through a couple of my previous answers about our $135m investment in land release and the $84m in residential, but there is around $50m committed to the continual release of commercial land in the Northern Territory. For the economy to grow, we must release more industrial land for the Territory’s oil and gas, mining, transport and logistics sectors, located close to our transport links.
The Darwin Business Park precinct will receive $11.1m for expansion, which I am very proud of, and will help grow the Northern Territory. The industrial area is strategically located close to the port of Darwin and the Adelaide to Darwin rail freight terminal.
Other projects include the next stage of the Muramats Road industrial area, where $6.3m has been set aside for five additional lots and $5.9m to continue works on the Wishart Road development. Concentrating industrial development in these strategic zones will free up more prime land for residential development. This commercial land release complements our residential land release program announced on the weekend, with 6500 additional dwellings constructed across the Northern Territory.
The Giles government is securing our children’s economic future, with almost $6m in funding to support the new Northern Australia Development Office and a new Commissioner to Indonesia and ASEAN over the next two years. This is the kind of work which will translate into building northern Australia development. It is about putting infrastructure in place, opening the country up, getting the right investments, such as new oil and gas and hydrocarbon, new pastoral activities, horticulture and agriculture, and ensuring commercial land and transport infrastructure is available to get the goods to market.
Rest assured, the Country Liberal Party has a plan. Labor does not have a plan, they only have sledging. We have a plan and they do not have one policy on their side of the Chamber.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. I remember many years ago when we first met and we were talking about how to develop the Northern Territory. One of the big things which came up was the importance of building roads and bridges to open up country and invest in parts of the Northern Territory where we have not had the greatest ability of access. It is also important to provide greater levels of connectivity and ensure we can provide a delivery of services and goods to people do not get the opportunity for much of the year. Much of the development of northern Australia has to do with roads and bridges, and I look forward to the announcement about some of the road funding in the budget at 11 am.
We worked hard as a Cabinet and a government in ensuring we had as much money as possible go towards roads and bridges to ensure we can provide connectivity and open up the Territory.
One of the other components about building northern Australia is ensuring we have commercial land available across the Territory. I spoke a bit through a couple of my previous answers about our $135m investment in land release and the $84m in residential, but there is around $50m committed to the continual release of commercial land in the Northern Territory. For the economy to grow, we must release more industrial land for the Territory’s oil and gas, mining, transport and logistics sectors, located close to our transport links.
The Darwin Business Park precinct will receive $11.1m for expansion, which I am very proud of, and will help grow the Northern Territory. The industrial area is strategically located close to the port of Darwin and the Adelaide to Darwin rail freight terminal.
Other projects include the next stage of the Muramats Road industrial area, where $6.3m has been set aside for five additional lots and $5.9m to continue works on the Wishart Road development. Concentrating industrial development in these strategic zones will free up more prime land for residential development. This commercial land release complements our residential land release program announced on the weekend, with 6500 additional dwellings constructed across the Northern Territory.
The Giles government is securing our children’s economic future, with almost $6m in funding to support the new Northern Australia Development Office and a new Commissioner to Indonesia and ASEAN over the next two years. This is the kind of work which will translate into building northern Australia development. It is about putting infrastructure in place, opening the country up, getting the right investments, such as new oil and gas and hydrocarbon, new pastoral activities, horticulture and agriculture, and ensuring commercial land and transport infrastructure is available to get the goods to market.
Rest assured, the Country Liberal Party has a plan. Labor does not have a plan, they only have sledging. We have a plan and they do not have one policy on their side of the Chamber.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016