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Northern Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills has said the economic map of this continent needs to pivot much more in favour to the land in the north rather than the traditional power hubs recognised in the past, when speaking at CEDA’s Darwin EPO.
06/03/2013
Northern Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills has said the economic map of this continent needs to pivot much more in favour to the land in the north rather than the traditional power hubs recognised in the past, when speaking at CEDA's Darwin EPO.
Mr Mills said the Northern Territory's proximity to Asia meant Darwin has huge potential as a hub for the rest of Australia to connect with Asia. "We have an obligation by virtue of our location...we see our opportunities are in energy and resources, export, tourism and agribusiness, defence and education facilities," he said. While he said the scope of what the NT has to offer is obvious, there were challenges. |
Skip to read: Terry Mills Chief Minister Northern Territory Justin Fabo |
"The main drivers of our economic growth are private construction investment and international exports and although potential across the Territory is immense, energy and resources exports need a competitive market," he said.
Using LNG as an example, he said a future challenge may be predictions US shale gas will provide more than half of gas needs in the US by 2040 and the US will be a net exporter of LNG by 2016.
"In the NT our challenges include needing to establish a national network serving the interests of domestic users," he said.
In addition to leveraging opportunities in key sectors, he said a priority for his Government would be improving the state fiscal position.
"You simply cannot run government by means of short term, knee jerk policy. Instead we are working towards a dynamic, efficient and resilient NT economy that sets the foundations for interactions with Asia," he said.
"So what are my government's priorities? Surely we must return the budget to surplus as soon as we possibly can and establish and meet prudent fiscal rules."
Presenting the economic outlook, ANZ Head of Australian Economics, Corporate and Commercial, Justin Fabo said the Northern Territory had an opportunity to broaden out to other high value areas beyond resources and mining such as services and food.
When you take a step back and actually have a look at what’s happening in the world, and you see what parts of the world are growing and what parts of the world are doing it tough, we are without doubt in the most vibrant part of the world, Northern Territory Treasurer, the Hon. Dave Tollner has told as CEDA audience in Darwin at the Economic and Political Overview.
Read more International affairs May 4, 2015The Abbott Government is committed to capitalising on business opportunities in the Indo Pacific region following the signing of free trade agreements with China, Japan and Korea, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Steven Ciobo has told a CEDA audience in Brisbane.
Read more International affairs May 28, 2013Extracts of this opinion piece by CEDA Chief Executive, Professor the Hon. Stephen Martin were published in the Australian Financial Review on 30 May 2013.
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