The NT Government is digging us deeper and deeper into debt, writes DAVID TOLLNER

NO matter what some might like to imagine, it seems unlikely that the Territory has hit rock bottom yet, writes former NT Treasurer DAVID TOLLNER

It’ll take a lot of hard work, that right now the Territory doesn’t seem to want to do, to get us out of debt, writes DAVID TOLLNER. Illustration: JOHN TIEDEMANN

NO matter what some might like to imagine, it seems unlikely the Territory has hit rock bottom and the NT Government is digging us deeper and deeper into debt.

There are too many possible economic catastrophes on the horizon and our Government, along with most of our population, ignore the nub of the problem.

Too many Territorians still recite the mantra, “I live in a community, not an economy” and delude themselves into thinking that removing developers and entrepreneurs has been a good thing.

However, given our over-reliance on the rest of Australia, it’s hardly surprising that most of us discount the value of enterprise in our economy.

More than 80 per cent of NT Government money comes from Canberra.

There are about 23,000 Territory public servants, more than 10,000 Commonwealth public servants (including Defence personnel) and Lord knows how many people are employed by local governments.

Most NGOs only survive on government money, along with thousands on unemployment, disability and pension payments. On top of this, large chunks of our business community can only survive by winning government contracts.

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In the rest of Australia more than eight out of 10 jobs are in the private sector, in the NT it’s not even 50 per cent.

The states develop prosperity through exports, in the Territory we do it by taking more of their taxes.

When the GST is divided up, WA gets 47 cents from every GST dollar raised in their state. The Territory gets $4.20, but our Government reckons we’re the ones being ripped off. Few see any shame in this thinking.

The closure of Ranger uranium and Scott Morrison’s $220 million extra for Kakadu National Park was widely celebrated. Few ask the question of why Kakadu is failing commercially or where the billions of dollars paid by ERA in taxes and royalties has gone.

In a place dominated by the public service no one questions the Government’s ability to run a tourist business.

Similarly, few of us see any problems pouring money into remote communities to support our most disadvantaged citizens.

The absence of private enterprise in these places of abundant mineral and tourism potential troubles few.

We expect government to be everything and to supply everything, because carpet baggers in private enterprise are always trying to rip off Aborigines.

Largely undeveloped farming land can never be touched, because farming requires water and there’s no way we’ll contemplate a dam or have a Murray Darling type problem in the NT.

Few care that more than half of Australia’s food crop comes from along the Murray Darling. It supports around 64,000 individual farms.

Despite the fact that two thirds of Australia’s rainfall occurs in the northernmost one third of the country, there’s not a Territory river system that supports even 64 farmers.

We have enough onshore gas to supply the entire energy needs of Australia for 200 years, but many Territorians don’t want a bar of that. We’d rather leave it in the ground than earn billions of dollars in export revenues or alleviate major gas shortages on the east coast.

Heaven forbid the thought of building hi-tech petrochemical or fertiliser manufacturing industries here.

In the Territory it is daily sport to rubbish the ambitious and the entrepreneurial.

Ask anyone who’s tried to develop a high rise, build a marina, investigate building an “island”, drill for gas, access water for farming, or chop up a few blocks in the rural area. They’ll tell you what public shaming is all about.

It’s obvious to nearly everybody that a minister who approves any of these projects is in the pocket of greedy businessmen.

They’re immediately branded corrupt and referred to an ICAC or similar inquisition.

Territorians demand it and government responds accordingly. Of course, car parks and museums are great, but it’s crazy to think they can save our economy.

No government has ever spent their way out of debt, they simply staved off the inevitable.

Rational thought should tell us that our community can only function properly with a strong economy.

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It should be obvious that without a strong economy we can’t have better hospitals, more teachers, a strong police force or money for conservation efforts. But in times of trouble we’ll happily ignore this reality and welcome government stimulus.

In our minds, stimulus is about governments spending money. It’s not about giving a green light to wealth-creating industries.

For us it’s easier to raid the taxes of future generations than risk some greedy developers making money in the Territory. So what if a few jobs don’t occur?

Territorians never want for much (except more money from the rest of Australia) because it’s paradise up here.

The threats to our economy seem obvious, but few seem to care that the biggest threat to our community and lifestyle is our over-reliance on government and our widespread negative attitude to enterprise.

In 1978, Territorians were thrilled to be cut loose from Canberra. This new-found freedom combined with a strong “have-a-go” attitude and created a sense of energy and optimism.

Government was unashamedly pro-freedom and pro-development.

They wanted for us to be independent, self-sufficient and chart our own course, free from the shackles of an interfering federal parliament. The desire for Statehood was everywhere.

Four decades later and everything has changed. We refuse to accept either necessary government spending cuts or increases in taxes. We welcome laws and regulations that insure against the ambitious making money and economic progress occurring.

In the NT, it’s “Boundless Possible” – unless of course, you want to do something.

The “public service attitude” now reigns supreme and we have become desperate beggars, completely dependent on the generosity, goodwill and taxes of our fellow Australians.

■ David Tollner was the former federal member for Solomon and the Territory Treasurer in the former CLP Government.