Stuart Highway funding only big ticket item for the Northern Territory in 2025 federal budget
A $200m investment in the Stuart Highway is the only new big ticket item for the NT in the federal budget. Here is what you need to know about what’s in the budget for the NT – and what’s not.
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A $200 million investment in the Stuart Highway is the only new big ticket item for the Northern Territory in the federal budget.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the budget on Tuesday night, with Territorians set to share in headline measures including $1.8bn for energy bill relief, $17bn for tax cuts, and $8.5bn for bulk-billing.
In terms of previously unannounced infrastructure, funds, or projects for the Territory, however, there is little to find in the budget papers.
Nationally, the government committed $17.1bn over the next decade for road and rail infrastructure priorities, from which the NT received $200m to duplicate the Stuart Highway between Darwin and Katherine.
In comparison Queensland was the biggest winner in the roads fund, receiving more than $7bn to upgrade the Bruce Highway.
About $300m each year on average is projected for total investment in NT roads and rail.
Public hospitals and related health services across Australia received a one-off $1.8bn funding boost in the budget, announced last month, which included an extra uplift for the NT to better align the commonwealth contribution rate with other states.
It brings the total commonwealth spend on NT public hospitals up $92m on last year to $518.8m, before it is set to drop back to $483.6m in the next financial year.
Another measure previously announced is $842.6m from July 1 for a six-year National Partnership on NT Remote Aboriginal Investment between the commonwealth, Territory government and Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT.
The partnership will support design and delivery of essential services for remote communities including policing, women’s safety, health and education.
The Northern Territory government has come out swinging at the budget, describing it as “an insult” that lacks the infrastructure investment needed to be able to unlock private sector development.
“Labor has spent months promising Territorians the equivalent of a trip to Disneyland, raising hopes and expectations, but when it came time to deliver, Madam Speaker, all we got was enough funding for a modest night out at Timezone Casuarina,” NT Treasurer Bill Yan said in parliament.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro labelled the $200m Stuart Highway funding “band aid money” that would barely cover 100km of road.
“It’s maintenance money. It doesn’t change the dial for the Territory, it doesn’t deliver new economic opportunities for us. It is status quo and I’m sick and tired of being ignored by federal governments,” she said.
In response, Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the Stuart Highway was a critical supply route for the NT and that the commonwealth injected “significant funding into the Northern Territory as a whole”.
“We do provide 88.3 per cent of the Northern Territory government’s funding, so I’d be very careful in terms of the kind of criticism that’s coming towards the federal government on this,” she told local ABC radio.
“Northern Territory taxpayers will receive an average benefit of $2713 in 2027-28; and that’s significant.
“We’ve got 88,000 households in the Northern Territory, who’ll get $150 help with their energy bills, along with 11,000 eligible small businesses.
“We’re rolling out $50m in terms of food security across regional and remote areas of Australia and a large number of that is in the Northern Territory.”
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Originally published as Stuart Highway funding only big ticket item for the Northern Territory in 2025 federal budget
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