NT budget: 5000 residential lots to be released as part of $15m plan to bolster NT’s population
EXCLUSIVE: The NT News can reveal $15m will be spent to turbocharge development in coming years, as the Chief Minister prepares to hand down his second budget in six months.
Northern Territory
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CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner will be looking to maintain the momentum of the Northern Territory’s coronavirus pandemic recovery as he today unveils his second budget in six months.
The NT News can reveal Mr Gunner will splash $15m to turbocharge the Territory’s population growth over the next five years.
The Investing in the Territory’s Future framework will outline how land will be developed during the economic recovery.
There will be a focus on making more than 5000 residential lots available in the growing Palmerston suburbs of Holtze and Kowandi.
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“Right now there is enough land available to meet demand for government and private residential developments,” Mr Gunner said.
“But that won’t be the case forever. We need to do the work now so that for the years ahead – the next five, 10, 20 years – the land is ready for development whenever and wherever it is needed,” he said.
Mr Gunner said the program would “get ahead of any growing pains”, particularly in the Top End.
“We are planning for the next residential land release in Holtze and Kowandi so land is available when it is needed,” he said.
“Holtze and Kowandi will provide over 5000 dwellings near the city of Palmerston.”
$1.1m will be included in today’s 2021-22 budget for the program, with $15m to be spent over the next five years.
This year’s budget will be Mr Gunner’s second as Treasurer.
Last year’s budget, delivered in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forecast the Northern Territory government would rack up $10.1bn of debt by the end of the 2021-22 financial year.
Mining royalties were also last year forecast to fall $14m this financial year, offset by an increase on payroll taxes.
Today’s budget will include measures revealed by the NT News, such as $2.8m for rooftop solar and battery installations, $8.75m for advanced manufacturing over five years, and $11.9m for Aboriginal rangers.
It’s also expected the Territory government will stick to its position on a wage freeze for public sector employees, a stance that has infuriated their union.
The Territory government has however defended the move, saying it intends to give all public sector workers a $1000 lump sum each August.
Posing with a copy of his budget in his fifth floor office yesterday, Mr Gunner said the economic impact of the pandemic on the budget was still “eye-watering”.
“But because the hard work that we’ve done, (the numbers) are better than what was expected,” he said.
“That’s the dividend from being smart, doing the hard work, being the first and fastest to recover. You’ll see in these numbers tomorrow the Territory story.”
Mr Gunner will unveil the budget in parliament today at 11am.
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