Matt Cunningham: More projects like Darwin Airport Resort needed

There was something conspicuously absent at the opening of the new Darwin Airport Resort this week - politicians, writes Matt Cunningham.

There was something conspicuously absent at the opening of the new Darwin Airport Resort this week. The Airport Development Group has just spent $30 million upgrading the resort, delivering a much-needed boost to our tourism offerings.

It’s one of the best news stories of the year, but when the ribbon was cut on Tuesday morning, there wasn’t a politician to be seen.

This should be seen as something of a triumph. Because for all of our moaning and complaining about our politicians (guilty as charged, your honour) they’re not the ones who are going to make this place great again.

Territorians have become addicted to public money.

An event like the one held at the Darwin Airport Resort on Tuesday would usually feature a conga line of MPs, getting their five minutes of air-time in return for their generous decision to share some of our money.

But when the resort’s general manager Chris Chaffe had a one-word answer: “None”.

With little fanfare and no financial support from the government, the Airport Development Group has created a facility that will improve the Darwin experience for tourists and improve liveability for Territorians.

The Darwin Airport Resort is set to open what it bills as Australia’s first airport resort as part of major redevelopment and upgrade works. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

It’s also established an Indigenous Training Academy to develop and mentor Aboriginal trainees, with more than 20 young workers already graduating from the program.

This has all been done in just two years.

Compare that to a project like the Darwin shiplift, which the NT Government promise to build seven years ago, but is yet to turn a sod.

One of the first stories I was ever asked to write as a young NT News reporter more than 16 years ago was about the number of cranes dotting the NT skyline.

It was 2007 and Darwin a boom town. I’m not sure how many cranes there were, but I remember the headline: “Our 1.1 billion skyline”.

Most of that $1.1 billion was private investment.

Today, the only crane you can see on our skyline is at the new gallery at State Square, “a joint initiative between the Australian Government, Northern Territory Government and the City of Darwin”.

Most people who were here in 2007 will tell you Darwin was a better place then, than it is now.

The place was booming.

The city was buzzing.

The population was increasing and property prices were rising.

It was all happening on the back of private investment.

Two Labor chief ministers would soon seek out a Japanese company to build a giant gas processing plant in Darwin harbour, creating thousands of jobs in the process.

There was barely a hint of protest.

The boom brought some of its own problems – young people struggled to get into the housing market, and getting a plumber to change a tap would take weeks and cost a fortune.

But you would take those problems any day, over business closures and rising crime rates.

The government has a role to play in the revival of Darwin.

It needs to foster an environment that nurtures and promotes private investment.

But real change will come when we get private investment from people who believe in this place.

As Airport Development Group chief executive Tony Edmondstone told me this week: “We’re just trying to change the town a little bit at a time”.

He says we need people to invest because investment drives change and improves liveability. This in turn brings population, and a growing population help fix social issues.

While 2023 has been a tough year, Darwin’s best days could still be ahead of us.

But if this place is to reach its potential, it will take more than the government to get us there.