NT business forecast to grow by 6.9 per cent in 2022: Deloitte

The Northern Territory economy is tipped to record the nation’s fastest growth in 2022. But there’s one thing that could hinder it.

THE latest Deloitte business outlook forecasts the Territory will have the nation’s fastest economic growth in 2022.

The Deloitte December 2021 Business Outlook predicts the Territory economy will grow by 6.9 per cent in 2022, 1.7 percentage points above second-placed New South Wales.

The Deloitte assessment acknowledges the role of the Territory’s tight border regime in shoring up the economy, but warns the relatively low vaccination rate may present issues. “Tight borders have helped the Northern Territory keep Covid at bay for much of the pandemic. But cases are now rising,” the report said.

“Given that the Top End has relatively low vaccination rates and a relatively vulnerable population, it faces a trickier transition to ‘living with the virus’ than that seen in much of the rest of Australia.”

The report forecasts the Territory population to increase by approximately 15,000 to 261,000 in 2025, up from 246,000 presently.

“Extended periods of lockdown were mostly avoided, helping the domestic economy chug along nicely,” the report said. But, the report said: “ ... now the NT must face the challenge of rising cases and hospitalisations. With its ... low vaccination rates, living with the virus in the NT is very different from that of the rest of the country.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the government’s Covid response had driven growth. “We’ve done everything we can to save lives and jobs over the past two years, and this year is about taking the same urgency to the economic response as the pandemic,” he said.