Middle Arm, Beetaloo the projects that will help get the NT to $40bn by 2030: Chief Minister

The NT government has set an ambitious goal of growing the Territory’s economy to $40bn by 2030. Chief Minister Natasha Fyles explains how we’ll get there.

While the Covid pandemic tested the capacity of much of southern Australia in the two years before the vaccination rollout, the Territory mostly avoided the lockdowns and disruption that hurt economies around the country.

Post-vaccination and with a slew of major projects holding out the carrot of long-term, sustainable economic growth, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the Territory should take heart from our important national role in the Covid crisis and build on that role post the pandemic.

The Territory provided a safe haven for thousands of Australians repatriated into the country at the “gold-standard” Howard Springs Centre for National Resilience and disruption to lifestyle and businesses were relatively low compared to interstate.

The benchmark set by the government on the back of that is to grow the NT’s gross state product from about $26bn to $40bn by 2030.

Over the same period it has set a population target of 300,000, up about 53,000 from current levels.

“During Covid the Northern Territory found its confidence, we did something well, we were able to lead and now we don’t actually have to be the east coast,” Ms Fyles said.

“We’re comfortable being ourselves, so I guess it’s a bit of a maturity thing and so just really focused around our plans to diversify the economy.

“That boom and bust cycle, we see people struggle to be able to buy a house, people get pushed away in that sense and we come down the other side and people leave town and people’s property prices go down and it’s just not good or anyone.

“That diversification of our economy and the really bright future we’ve had is what I’m focused on and delivering those projects.”

Middle Arm Precint

With money committed in both this year’s federal budgets, progressing the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct is the government’s number one growth-focused priority.

An initiative introduced and pursued by the Territory Labor Government since winning office in 2016, the bi-partisan commonwealth commitment by the Coalition and federal Labor delivered a jump start for sustained economic growth.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers doubled-down in the October budget on the $1.5bn committed for Middle Arm in Josh Frydenberg’s March budget and work will begin preparing the precinct for the mostly private sector investment the government believes will follow.

“It’s not a petrochemical plant,” Ms Fyles said.

“For Territorians who might just be starting to hear about this project, it’s identifying that we need that balance between our harbour and our environment but we also need to have industry rather than having eight or 10 projects that in isolation might seem okay but then we get to the end of it and go ‘hang-on, they’re scattered through our harbour’.

“As a single project they’re all right but as a collective, it’s co-location and doing a whole assessment on that Middle Arm project but then each project will go through the appropriate checks and balances individually as well.

“It’s shared resources and enabling infrastructure, which is what that commonwealth government investment is about.”

Middle Arm by air. Picture: Wayne Zerbe

Ms Fyles said the Territory’s “rigorous” environmental rules would also ensure the environment was covered as the project went ahead.

“It’s really important for Territorians to understand we’ve got some of the most vigorous environmental protections and community impact legislation that we’ve worked through and this will go through every assessment,” she said.

“It’s this opportunity to use sustainable energy, renewables. Back in the day coal was the way we powered our nations in the world.

“We know we can’t afford to continue that with fossil fuels. Gas was a step but we know renewables and sustainable energy is the way of the future and so green hydrogen comes to mind for this project.”

Beetaloo Sub-basin

Away from Middle Arm, development of gas reserves at the Beetaloo sub-basin will depend on market demand.

“Our job as a government is to ensure that we have the highest environmental social impacts around any development whether that be land development for housing or industry,” Ms Fyles said.

“It’s our job to make that legislation strong.”

Beetaloo Basin

And this is not just a target for fossil fuel developments.

“The Sun Cable solar project is the largest in the world proposed and it needs strong environmental management such as weeds for example,” Ms Fyles said.

“Our job is to have that there so business has that certainty and community has that confidence.”

Regional Road and Logistics Hubs

Diversification of the Territory economy and distribution of resources to the regions is fundamental to reaching $40bn.

As well as the $1.5bn Middle Arm money, the federal budget also contained an additional billion for regional road projects and logistics hubs.

“That’s enabling infrastructure in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs and if you get out to our regions, we’re certainly trying to balance the challenges we’ve got around housing, for example, but our regional communities are also growing,” Ms Fyles said.

“Nhulunbuy has a wonderful opportunity as we step away from the rehabilitation of the old mine.

“It’s got a deep sea port there and the Gumaj and Yolngu are some of the most progressive Traditional Owners.

“We’ve got significant defence infrastructure coming into northern Australia and some of those traditional industries – tourism and agribusiness.”

Other drivers include advanced manufacturing and data centres the Chief Minister believes can potentially improve telecommunications in remote communities and grow jobs.

“There’s opportunities if you can get the energy source needed and the connectivity and that’s something I think will come along in the coming years.”

Amphibian Aerospace Industries

Emblematic of the Territory’s diversified future is Amphibian Aerospace Industries’ plan to modernise and relaunch the Albatross G-111T aircraft from a factory proposed for Darwin Airport.

Gifted $10m from the government’s future jobs fund, the project juggles innovation and risk and could soar like an albatross or stall at take-off.

“That comes back to the local jobs fund we set up as a government,” Ms Fyles said.

“We need to garner these projects and how can we grab them here in the Territory?

“How do we compete against New South and Victoria and that’s that local jobs fund where some of these projects that might be a little bit more risky or innovative but traditional sources of loans for them aren’t easy to come by?

“The Local Jobs Fund goes through due diligence, it’s got experts to assess it but that’s one of the edges we’ve put in place to attract opportunities to the Territory.”

Housing Challenges

Housing is a recurring theme in discussions around challenges to sustained, diverse economic development with estimates 50 new homes will have to be built each day between now and 2030 to achieve growth and population targets.

Planned new suburbs at Holtze and Kowandi housing 15,000 people are planned with diverse housing models.

“Not everyone can be on a quarter-acre block with a house but the lifestyle here, people can live in apartment and have a great lifestyle with the amenities that we’ve got and not have to worry about palm-fronds,” Ms Fyles said.

“We’re very conscious of the housing we need to provide for these jobs.”

Covid’s change of “traditional trajectories” may also work in the NT’s favour.

“I think that people have woken up to regional Australia and the opportunities there and I think that’s our chance to sell the Northern Territory whether it’s Central Australia and the Top End now that people have had that impact of Covid and its changed traditional trajectories.”

The Regions

It’s intended the regions will be a big part in reaching targets.

“Alice Springs with the Aboriginal art gallery, tourism becoming that central point for Indigenous culture; lots of mining opportunities around Tennant Creek and the Sun Cable project and then Katherine really being that location connecting the north of WA and Queensland,” Ms Fyles said.

National Aboriginal Art Gallery precinct in Alice Springs. Anzac Oval and surrounds. Picture: Supplied.

“We’re really excited around those logistics hubs and helping the variety of industries and those regions.”

Crime

Asked to comment on the impact of crime on economic growth, Ms Fyles focused her answer around alcohol.

“We certainly have our social challenges and alcohol is one of them,” she said.

“I’m determined to tackle that and the strength of the Territory is our agility.

“We’ve seen some really great work coming together with non-government organisations, with the councils, with police and other government agencies.

“I’m really determined to tackle and make sure no one’s left behind but we don’t have to witness some of the behaviours that we do see.”

With Defence already providing an economic base, a number of projects planned – if not yet committed too – and the post-Covid economy growing strongly, the Chief Minister said the time was right to consolidate the Territory.

“I think the Northern Territory’s stars have aligned and our chance is here and I think that’s important for the Territory,” she said.

“I’ve been here for 40 years and hope to be here for another 40 and I think that this really is the time to step away from that boom and bust cycle to have that certainty for business, the certainty for community and managing these projects and managing that land release is key to my leadership role is setting that certainty up for the future.”

The NT News’ Future NT event on Friday, November 25 will explore how the government achieves a $40bn economy by 2030. Buy your tickets here.