Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham outline the massive spend coming for the NT in this year's budget

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Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham outline the massive spend coming for the NT in this year's budget · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, the federal budget was handed down last night and
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  Speaker 1: things are looking pretty positive for the Northern Territory with
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: more than two point six billion dollars to be spent
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  Speaker 1: on infrastructure projects across the territory in coming years. Joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line is the Federal Finance Minister, Simon Birmingham.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 2: Great to be with you.
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  Speaker 1: Great have you on the show, Minister. Among these big
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  Speaker 1: ticket items for the territory, the federal government's flagged a
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: one point five billion dollar upgrade for the Darwin Port
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  Speaker 1: and another four hundred and forty million dollars for logistics
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  Speaker 1: facilities in three other territory centers. Firstly, what is that
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  Speaker 1: one point five billion to the Darwin Port going to entail?
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  Speaker 2: This is really about ensuring that we have the capability
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  Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory, which has seen phenomenal growth in
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  Speaker 2: its export opportunities in recent years, and to keep that
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  Speaker 2: growth going. The opportunities around the Middle Head Precinct to
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  Speaker 2: be able to invest in seeing more industry, more development
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: and more export opportunities there is It's crucial we see
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: this about investing in the future energy potential of Australia.
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  Speaker 2: So ensuring that we realize the hydrogen potential for Australia
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  Speaker 2: is part of the clean energy transition that we and
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  Speaker 2: the world are underway, and we want the territory, just
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  Speaker 2: as it is currently an export hub for LNG, to
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  Speaker 2: see those benefits of being an export hub in hydrogen,
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  Speaker 2: in critical minerals and resources where possible.
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  Speaker 1: To a minister, we know the port is currently leased
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  Speaker 1: to Chinese company land Bridge, So is it a new
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  Speaker 1: port or is it about actually upgrading some of the
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  Speaker 1: facilities or some of the infrastructure nearby.
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  Speaker 2: So these are providing for potentially new facilities as part
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  Speaker 2: of that long envisaged and talked about developments there around
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  Speaker 2: the Middle Head area, ensuring that we actually have that
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  Speaker 2: development realized as an industrial hub. Support precinct is an
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  Speaker 2: export precinct in Darwin and supporting from that Australia's export growth.
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  Speaker 2: Around around sixty seven percent of all of Australia's exports
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  Speaker 2: come out of regional Australia. Around eighty two percent of
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  Speaker 2: our goods exports come out of regional Australia. And so
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  Speaker 2: in this budget, with investments in the territory but also
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  Speaker 2: in the Pilborgo in central Queensland in the Hunter Valley.
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  Speaker 2: We're backing those big industrial centers or potential industrial centers
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  Speaker 2: as locations for stronger growth than to keep that export
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  Speaker 2: generation going for our country, which is one of the
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  Speaker 2: wealth factors that enables us do have achieve some of
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  Speaker 2: the lowest unemployment rates in fifty years in Australia.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, I think that you know, very often regional Australians
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  Speaker 1: do feel as though they can be forgotten a little
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  Speaker 1: bit when it comes to things like the budget and
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  Speaker 1: buy our federal policies. But this budget does seem to
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  Speaker 1: focus on regional Australia. Why is there such a push
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: towards the regions?
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  Speaker 2: Very much for the reasons that I outlined that regional
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  Speaker 2: Australia is a wealth generator, but not just for itself,
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  Speaker 2: it's the wealth generator for the nation. Those exports helped
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  Speaker 2: to underpin jobs and businesses right across Australia in city
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  Speaker 2: areas as well. And whether it's in agriculture or the
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  Speaker 2: resources sector with new resources areas such as critical minerals
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  Speaker 2: that provide rare earths into different batteries or the like,
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  Speaker 2: or whether it's the growth of the hydras of sector
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  Speaker 2: and crucially where we're investing is also in value adding
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  Speaker 2: of these things. Manufacturing agenda, with another billion dollars of
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  Speaker 2: support for manufacturing in Australia is about continuing the trend
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  Speaker 2: we've seen, which is the recovery in manufacturing jobs and
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  Speaker 2: more than one million Australians are employed in the manufacturing
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  Speaker 2: sector again, and so we want to see whether it's
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  Speaker 2: in legumes and grains, the growth of manufacturing in plant protein,
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  Speaker 2: whether it is in relation to rare earths that we
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  Speaker 2: don't just ship your body out of Australia, but we
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  Speaker 2: get some value adding from more processing of those rare
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  Speaker 2: earths in Australia, creating more manufacturing jobs. We're having success
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  Speaker 2: there and we're investing further to secure further success and
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  Speaker 2: more jobs to make sure that we keep it going
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  Speaker 2: in terms of jobs growth from that wages growth for.
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  Speaker 1: Australian So, of course as part of this flagged are
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  Speaker 1: these logistics facilities going to be operating down the track
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  Speaker 1: in the territory, but also the three hundred million dollars
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  Speaker 1: to be spent as you've mentioned on LNG clean hydrogen
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  Speaker 1: production and carbon capture and storage in Darwin. When is
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  Speaker 1: this going to get underway?
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  Speaker 2: So what we've got there is clearly a funding pipeline
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  Speaker 2: that provides many hundreds of millions of dollars in investment
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  Speaker 2: over the next four years, but that continues in terms
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  Speaker 2: of ultimately billions of dollars of investment for the next decade.
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  Speaker 2: Recognizing that building big industries like this take time, Building
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  Speaker 2: big infrastructure like this takes careful planning, but it's a
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  Speaker 2: demonstration in this budget of the long term vision and
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  Speaker 2: plans that we have to keep Australia's economy strong. In
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  Speaker 2: this budget we've seen the dividends of economic strength. A
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  Speaker 2: higher labor market, more Australians in jobs, means we're paying
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  Speaker 2: less in welfare. We've got more tax payers contributing in
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  Speaker 2: the economy. That's enabling us to have lower deficits and
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  Speaker 2: lower depths than have previously been forecast as a nation.
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  Speaker 2: It's enabling us to invest in different ways in terms
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  Speaker 2: of continuing that economic growth, and of course crucially to
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  Speaker 2: recognize that the war in Ukraine and international events are
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  Speaker 2: having cost of living Australians and so to provide like
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  Speaker 2: we did during COVID, targeted support to help people through
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  Speaker 2: these short term crises that come along.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I will get to that targeted support in
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  Speaker 1: just a moment. Before we get there, though, can you
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  Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more about what is in
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  Speaker 1: the budget for the Northern Territory. I know that there
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  Speaker 1: had been some discussion and I'm not sure whether you've
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  Speaker 1: got this detail with you this morning, but there had
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  Speaker 1: been discussion about funding for police in remote communities. Has
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  Speaker 1: there been an allocation of funding for that in this
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  Speaker 1: year's budget.
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  Speaker 2: Katie, So, I don't think we've got a specific one there,
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  Speaker 2: but to support the Northern Territory, we see some real
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  Speaker 2: growth in funding going into the NT government. For health,
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  Speaker 2: there's around five hundred and sixty million dollars for Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory Health and hospitals. For education and skills there's around
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  Speaker 2: four hundred and eighty eight million dollars. But importantly, in
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  Speaker 2: terms of untied payments to the NT government through GST
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  Speaker 2: related revenue, we see that going up with an estimate
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  Speaker 2: of three point seven billion dollars of payments to the territory,
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  Speaker 2: and that's an increase of three hundred and seventy two
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  Speaker 2: million dollars for the NT government to invest in police,
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  Speaker 2: in law and order, in health and hospitals, in schools
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  Speaker 2: as they see those priorities, and it's a very significant
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  Speaker 2: eleven percent increase in funding being made available. And once
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  Speaker 2: again that's one of those gividends of a stronger economy.
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  Speaker 1: And I know that those GST shares it's always something
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  Speaker 1: that there's a bit of argibargie about between the federal
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  Speaker 1: government and the Northern Territory government in years gone by
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  Speaker 1: the territory government claiming that the GST had been cut
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  Speaker 1: for the territory. But from what you're telling me this morning,
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  Speaker 1: there's an eleven percent increase.
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  Speaker 2: There is an eleven percent increase this year, which is
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  Speaker 2: obviously double digit growth, hundreds of millions of dollars three
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  Speaker 2: hundred and seventy two million dollars extra in GST payments
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  Speaker 2: flowing into int government coffers. And as I said, that
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  Speaker 2: is a recognition that the states and territories at the
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  Speaker 2: front line of service delivery of police, hospitals, schools need
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  Speaker 2: those resources and so those funding streams flow in a
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  Speaker 2: dedicated way to them.
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  Speaker 1: If you have just joined us, we are joined on
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  Speaker 1: the line this morning by the Final Minister, the Federal
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  Speaker 1: Finance Minister Simon Birmingham Minister, we know that more broadly,
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  Speaker 1: there will be a twenty two cents per liter cut
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  Speaker 1: to fuel prices which will hopefully provide that relief in
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  Speaker 1: coming days. We're hoping to darwin motorists who are currently
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  Speaker 1: paying over two dollars a liter. How quickly are we
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  Speaker 1: going to see this saving and what's going to be
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  Speaker 1: done to ensure that it is indeed passed on quickly?
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  Speaker 2: So the saving will flow through over the next couple
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  Speaker 2: of weeks and we will put it through the Parliament
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  Speaker 2: as a law today. So I've been immediately following the
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  Speaker 2: budget that twenty two cents a leader equates to about
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  Speaker 2: fifteen bucks every time somebody fills the car up. And
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  Speaker 2: it's a recognition that those international factors, the tragic, terrible
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  Speaker 2: war in Ukraine have seen a real spike in oil
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  Speaker 2: prices and with that spike, we want to help people
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  Speaker 2: while they are very very high. We know they won't
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  Speaker 2: stay at these super elevated levels forever, but for now
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  Speaker 2: it's hurting. We will make sure and how made sure
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  Speaker 2: that the Australian Competition in Consumer Commission has the powers
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  Speaker 2: to check in on fuel prices to ensure that if
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  Speaker 2: anybody is doing the wrong thing, there are potential multi
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  Speaker 2: million dollar penalties that will be applied. So we are
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  Speaker 2: confident that people will see that reduction in twenty two
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  Speaker 2: cents a leader flow through to the bowser over the
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  Speaker 2: next couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah good. I know that a lot of listeners are
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  Speaker 1: going to be pleased to hear that, because I've got
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  Speaker 1: to tell you, in a place like the territory and
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  Speaker 1: also in regional Australia, we know that the cost of
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  Speaker 1: petrol going up means that the cost of living goes up,
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  Speaker 1: as you've mentioned there, and there is going to be
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  Speaker 1: for low and medium income households. They're going to receive
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  Speaker 1: a four hundred and twenty dollars cost of living tax offset. Nationally,
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  Speaker 1: the government says that ten million Australians will benefit. Minister,
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  Speaker 1: it is a good step, but who's eligible.
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  Speaker 2: So in terms of that additional payment it's going to support,
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  Speaker 2: as you say, around ten million Australians, around ninety thousand
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  Speaker 2: Territorians will receive that support. It basically applies to all
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  Speaker 2: lower middle income earners from about one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 2: thousand dollars down, so it's covering a wide range there,
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  Speaker 2: and in addition to that, we're providing a top up
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  Speaker 2: for age pensioners, carers, veterans, those on job seeker, making
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  Speaker 2: sure that they receive a relatively consistent top up of
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  Speaker 2: support when you take into account the recent indexation of
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  Speaker 2: pensions that happened, providing around five hundred bucks over the
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  Speaker 2: course of the year there, which is really about making
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  Speaker 2: sure that those who are getting the benefit from lower
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  Speaker 2: fuel prices, they've also been paying higher costs in supermarkets
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  Speaker 2: and elsewhere as a consequence of these bikes. So these
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  Speaker 2: payments again targeted temporary responsible. We want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that as oil prices stabilized, we get the budget back
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  Speaker 2: to normal as much as possible. But right now, while
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  Speaker 2: Australians are doing it tough, this is something practical that
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  Speaker 2: we can do to help them without having long term
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  Speaker 2: negative impacts on the budget.
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  Speaker 1: Now there does seem to be a lot in this
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  Speaker 1: year's budget for the Northern territory. Minister does the coalitionency
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  Speaker 1: the seats of Solomon and Lingiari as being winnable once well, we.
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  Speaker 2: Will certainly compete hard in those seats. But the reason
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  Speaker 2: we're investing in the Northern Territory is because we see
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  Speaker 2: the economic potential of the territory to grow, to see
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  Speaker 2: more jobs created there, to see more business opportunities in
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  Speaker 2: the territory, and for the territory to be a bigger
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  Speaker 2: wealth generator for the rest of the country too. And
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  Speaker 2: so it's about the long term plans and vision that
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  Speaker 2: we have for the Northern Territory. We want to ensure
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  Speaker 2: that its success is a part of Australia's future success.
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  Speaker 2: But when it comes to the election campaign, we will
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  Speaker 2: certainly campaign hard for the two seats in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: And we will indeed speak to the Labor Party later
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: in the week as well with their budget reply. Minister,
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  Speaker 1: is the budget anything other than an attempt to win
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: the election.
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  Speaker 2: Katie, It's much much more than that. We have actually
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  Speaker 2: taken the vast majority of benefits that have flowed in
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: terms of more revenue or reduced spending to the budget
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  Speaker 2: from a stronger economy and put that against lower deficits,
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  Speaker 2: more than one hundred billion dollar reduction in deficits in
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: this budget than had previously been forecast. Debt will as
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: a consequence be lower than in previously forecast that's setting
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Australia up to be more resilient in the future.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, we really appreciate your
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: time this morning. Thanks so much for having a chat
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  Speaker 1: with us and talking us through how the budget is
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: going to benefit the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Katie, my pleasure, Thank.
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  Speaker 1: You, Thanks very much. You are listening to Mix one
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  Speaker 1: O four nine's three sixty. If you'd like to get
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: in contact with us this morning, give us a call
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: eight nine to four one one four nine. What was
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: your reaction to the federal budget being handed down? What
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: do you see as it as it doing for you?
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  Speaker 1: There does seem to be a massive spend for the
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory this time round, as I said there with
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: the Federal Finance Minister, more than two zero point six
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: billion dollars to be spent on infrastructure projects across the
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory coming your way after ten o'clock we are
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  Speaker 1: going to be speaking to various industry groups to find
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: out how this is going to benefit those various industries.
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  Speaker 1: Once again, if you'd like to call through eight nine
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  Speaker 1: four one one oho four nine