Ms FINOCCHIARO - 2013-10-09
Development is an important part of the Territory growing and moving forward. What has the government done to promote development in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. I acknowledge her staunch advocacy for getting development on the ground around her electorate.
A few weeks ago, she accompanied me to a launch of the expression of interest stage of the Maluku Views development in the Palmerston CBD. It is an exciting time for the Territory. We have an unprecedented amount of development under way and in the pipeline. Much it is happening in the Darwin CBD and surrounding suburbs. A couple of months ago, I stood on the balcony of a recently-completed development in the city and looked across the skyline to see many cranes, a sure sign of a prosperous economy; unlike what Labor would like us to believe.
As the Chief Minister said today, the Department of Lands and Planning and the Environment has been inundated with around 1200 development applications across the Territory. That is almost 200 more than we expected this time last year.
We are open for business, and the confident culture promoted by this government is encouraging developers to invest in the great Territory. Development has doubled in the CBD over the last 12 months, with a number of key projects making some impressive progress.
Stage 2 of Toga’s development, the Waterfront Precinct, is well under way, with that fantastic CDU Business School due to open next year. Scaffolding has just been erected around the old Commonwealth Bank site on the corner of Smith and Bennett Streets. A medical centre, restaurants, offices and residential accommodation will be built on the site that has been neglected for a long time. A highly under-utilised site on The Esplanade has been approved for 168 apartments in an 18-storey building. This was one of the gaps on The Esplanade …
Mr McCarthy interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, you are on a warning!
Mr CHANDLER: … and with the street level, restaurants will add to the growth ability of The Esplanade precinct.
There are a number of applications in the pipeline with the Hilton flagging an expansion of its existing Esplanade Double Tree Hotel to include two new wings and an overall aesthetic upgrade, boosting the hotel’s capacity to 100.
There is a sense of anticipation in the air as the Territory is pulling itself up by the bootstraps and looking forward to a brighter future. Look around the city and at the cranes. Many developments have been approved in the last 12 months, and that is the truth. There are probably 26 major developments in the city at the moment, 13 of which were approved in the last 12 months. That is because this government is open for business. In the first 12 months of government - 26 developments, 13 approved in the last 12 months. That is a lot of action for 12 months, because we are a government that is open for business.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. I acknowledge her staunch advocacy for getting development on the ground around her electorate.
A few weeks ago, she accompanied me to a launch of the expression of interest stage of the Maluku Views development in the Palmerston CBD. It is an exciting time for the Territory. We have an unprecedented amount of development under way and in the pipeline. Much it is happening in the Darwin CBD and surrounding suburbs. A couple of months ago, I stood on the balcony of a recently-completed development in the city and looked across the skyline to see many cranes, a sure sign of a prosperous economy; unlike what Labor would like us to believe.
As the Chief Minister said today, the Department of Lands and Planning and the Environment has been inundated with around 1200 development applications across the Territory. That is almost 200 more than we expected this time last year.
We are open for business, and the confident culture promoted by this government is encouraging developers to invest in the great Territory. Development has doubled in the CBD over the last 12 months, with a number of key projects making some impressive progress.
Stage 2 of Toga’s development, the Waterfront Precinct, is well under way, with that fantastic CDU Business School due to open next year. Scaffolding has just been erected around the old Commonwealth Bank site on the corner of Smith and Bennett Streets. A medical centre, restaurants, offices and residential accommodation will be built on the site that has been neglected for a long time. A highly under-utilised site on The Esplanade has been approved for 168 apartments in an 18-storey building. This was one of the gaps on The Esplanade …
Mr McCarthy interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, you are on a warning!
Mr CHANDLER: … and with the street level, restaurants will add to the growth ability of The Esplanade precinct.
There are a number of applications in the pipeline with the Hilton flagging an expansion of its existing Esplanade Double Tree Hotel to include two new wings and an overall aesthetic upgrade, boosting the hotel’s capacity to 100.
There is a sense of anticipation in the air as the Territory is pulling itself up by the bootstraps and looking forward to a brighter future. Look around the city and at the cranes. Many developments have been approved in the last 12 months, and that is the truth. There are probably 26 major developments in the city at the moment, 13 of which were approved in the last 12 months. That is because this government is open for business. In the first 12 months of government - 26 developments, 13 approved in the last 12 months. That is a lot of action for 12 months, because we are a government that is open for business.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016