Chief Minister Michael Gunner ‘confident’ Coalition bail out deal still on the cards

CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner says he’s still confident a deal could be made with the Commonwealth to secure relief for the NT’s superannuation debt

• NT Government debt to hit $8.2 billion by July next year as GST revenue loss hits $609 million
• Canavan says Coalition ‘not interested’ in NT bail out

CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner says he’s still confident a deal could be made with the Commonwealth to secure relief for the NT’s superannuation debt.

One of the recommendations of John Langoulant’s wide-ranging review of the Territory’s fiscal crisis was to collect on the debt, which has existed since self-government.

The NT Government will also seek relief from the Commonwealth for $90 million a year in superannuation liabilities.

This morning, Mr Gunner said he was will confident a relief deal with the Commonwealth Government was still “definitely on the cards.”

“We’ve had some good conversations with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and I’ve had them directly with the Prime Minister,” he told ABC.

“We haven’t got an answer yet, but the conversations have actually been feeling positive.

“They did do that with Tasmania, you might remember, Senator Lambey was after several things, and they did that deal.

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“So we are confident the Australian Government will go down that path. It should be positive.”

Last year Senator Matt Canavan said the Coalition wasn’t interested in handing over a cheque.

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