Ms WALKER - 2010-04-28
Last week, you announced a fund to support priority projects in our Territory growth towns. Can you outline how this will support the important work being done as part of A Working Future?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. For the first time in the history of the Northern Territory, we are seeing the Northern Territory and Australian governments working cooperatively with local people to improve and develop our remote growth towns.
Change is happening. Local people are working with us, developing local implementation plans for each town, and momentum is building as work is prioritised and funding allocated to key projects.
Since A Working Future was launched nearly a year ago, the Australian and Northern Territory governments have been working jointly with local people building the local implementation plans to guide investments and service improvements in our remote regions. In Numbulwar and Ngukurr on the weekend, they spoke very strongly about the local implementation plans. Our government is focused on moving forward and encouraging the 20 growth towns to look at how they want to grow, what it is that they would like to see in the next 10 and 20 years. We know that, at the end of the day, it has to be about the people wanting to grow their regions. It is no good all the money coming into any of these communities unless the people in these communities are part of that process.
This new fund with the Northern Territory budget this year, an incredible focus on our regions, and I commend the Treasurer. I am looking forward to her budget being delivered next week in terms of the people of the Northern Territory in our regions. We have already seen, with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, $21.3m in our regions for the barges, the very important barge spaces across the top of Arnhem Land around to Wadeye. Knowing that people are cut off, that is why our government is focused on these growth towns to ensure the service delivery is there.
Next week, we will hear of how many of these priorities are to be addressed through different programs. This new fund, starting with $9m over the next four years, gives us the capacity to fast-track one-off projects that will make a very big difference for local people.
Mr Tollner: Like a house.
Ms McCARTHY: I hear the member for Fong Lim. Clearly, the CLP is quick to criticise lack of action, but we are on the job …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Ms McCARTHY: … working with local people, unlike the opposition. They had many opportunities and they failed the regions of the Northern Territory. We are on the job of correcting the neglect. This new funding pool for priority projects adds to the many investments we are making.
Members interjecting.
Ms McCARTHY: They do not want to listen, just as they did not listen to the people of the regions during the time they were in government. We are correcting the neglect, Madam Speaker.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. For the first time in the history of the Northern Territory, we are seeing the Northern Territory and Australian governments working cooperatively with local people to improve and develop our remote growth towns.
Change is happening. Local people are working with us, developing local implementation plans for each town, and momentum is building as work is prioritised and funding allocated to key projects.
Since A Working Future was launched nearly a year ago, the Australian and Northern Territory governments have been working jointly with local people building the local implementation plans to guide investments and service improvements in our remote regions. In Numbulwar and Ngukurr on the weekend, they spoke very strongly about the local implementation plans. Our government is focused on moving forward and encouraging the 20 growth towns to look at how they want to grow, what it is that they would like to see in the next 10 and 20 years. We know that, at the end of the day, it has to be about the people wanting to grow their regions. It is no good all the money coming into any of these communities unless the people in these communities are part of that process.
This new fund with the Northern Territory budget this year, an incredible focus on our regions, and I commend the Treasurer. I am looking forward to her budget being delivered next week in terms of the people of the Northern Territory in our regions. We have already seen, with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, $21.3m in our regions for the barges, the very important barge spaces across the top of Arnhem Land around to Wadeye. Knowing that people are cut off, that is why our government is focused on these growth towns to ensure the service delivery is there.
Next week, we will hear of how many of these priorities are to be addressed through different programs. This new fund, starting with $9m over the next four years, gives us the capacity to fast-track one-off projects that will make a very big difference for local people.
Mr Tollner: Like a house.
Ms McCARTHY: I hear the member for Fong Lim. Clearly, the CLP is quick to criticise lack of action, but we are on the job …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Ms McCARTHY: … working with local people, unlike the opposition. They had many opportunities and they failed the regions of the Northern Territory. We are on the job of correcting the neglect. This new funding pool for priority projects adds to the many investments we are making.
Members interjecting.
Ms McCARTHY: They do not want to listen, just as they did not listen to the people of the regions during the time they were in government. We are correcting the neglect, Madam Speaker.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016