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Katie Woolf spoke with Minerals Council Exec Director Drew Wagner on the NT Budget · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf thanks to Joyce Main Darwin
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Homes on Stuart Highway, Bear.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Mart The Minerals Council Executive Director, Drew Wagner, Good morning
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: to you, Drew.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie. Quiet morning, isn't.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: It always it? Quiet morning? After budget? Drew, what was
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: your reaction to yesterday's budget?
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  Speaker 1: I a lot of what Gregis said then. I think
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  Speaker 1: it was a fairly of steer budget. It was a
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: budget where we're still trying to work out with our
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: new normal he is and our everyday lives, let alone
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: economic recovery. It was good to see the recovery has
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: been slightly faster than had previously anticipated. It was good
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to see the general recognition of some of the changes
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: have been put in place, particularly administratively in regards to
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: some of the caps on budgets for the departments and
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: their operational constructs. And it was good to see some
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: funding coming our way for some grants for some common
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: drilling programs as well. So all and all reasonably strong,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: but with this a little long way to go, a
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: lot of money to be attracted.
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  Speaker 2: Yet, what were the positives for your industry?
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Well, we've had long term a common drilling program that
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: has been put in place. It's had a number of names.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: It's currently called resourcing the Territory. It's about collecting pre
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: competitive geoscience data. So it's about the government co funding
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  Speaker 1: some drilling programs. Slough and I've got access to that data.
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  Speaker 1: It's in regards to the fact that we're not of course,
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  Speaker 1: as you and I have discussed before, we're not unexplored,
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  Speaker 1: but we're certainly under explored across the vast landscape of
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  Speaker 1: the territory, and this will allow us to close some
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  Speaker 1: of those gaps to attract that investment in the future
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  Speaker 1: and hopefully that development. But as Greg said, the number
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of projects we've got on the books right now, we
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: really need to start coming home to roost. Anything that
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  Speaker 1: we can do in that space, whether it be through
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: the new commissioners, whether it be through the departments, or
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: whether it be in partnership with peat bodies like ourselves,
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  Speaker 1: we need to facilitate as much as we can on
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  Speaker 1: behalf of all territoriums.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, that's something you and I have spoken about
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  Speaker 2: on so many occasions, the fact that there are those
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  Speaker 2: projects on the horizon, but there's still a way from getting,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: you know, really getting started. How big an impact would
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  Speaker 2: they have once some of those projects get going.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Massively. We're already recognized in the budget yesterday the mining
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  Speaker 1: sector is twenty seven twenty eight percent growth state product
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: already and get as you and I have discussed, we've
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: we've got less than double digits in the number of
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: minds who've currently got operational. There's nineteen significant projects on
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: the books right now, so even getting a few of
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  Speaker 1: those projects up in the short medium term will have
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: massive opportunities. But with that come some issues as well
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: in regards as Greg mentioned them as skills retention and
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: training is obviously something a gap that we've identified that
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: we still needed and work on. That international attraction of
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: that investment money is still something that is very difficult
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: in the current climate, but it's certainly we've never had
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: a more opportunistic or pressing time as right now to
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  Speaker 1: try and get that progression going.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: True. Are there any areas where, in your opinion, the
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: budget fell short for your industry, Well, I don't.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Think it fell short in any way, particularly for our industry,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: and it was still in strong recognition of the fact
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that the role the mining sector can play in our
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: economic recovery. We've saw a lot of money obviously bring
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: announced in regards to infrastructure. There's obviously a knock on
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: effect of capacity opportunity for our industry in that space
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: as well as well as there is for a number
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: of other industries too, so facilitating that is always a
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: good thing. We were still recognized with four point four
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: billion dollars per animal's return to the territory economy just
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  Speaker 1: from the mining sector alone. So the economic benefits that
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  Speaker 1: are still obviously very significant and benefit all territory is
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  Speaker 1: particularly the remote regional areas well.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Minerals Council Executive Director Drew Wagner, would you say, all
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: in all, does the budget do enos well?
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: I think it's the right budget for the right time.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I think if we were in a different economic climate,
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  Speaker 1: or we're in a different global climate right now, we
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: would be calling for different things. But for today, for
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  Speaker 1: moving forward, for twenty twenty one twenty two, I think
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: it's in the right space. There are a number of
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: checks and balances obviously now that I think we need
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: to ensure collectively and holistically are held to account. But
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  Speaker 1: if we can do so and put in place what's
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: been outlined I don't think we're in too bad a spot,
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  Speaker 1: but as we said, this a little long way to
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  Speaker 1: go in a global market where everybody is still trying
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  Speaker 1: to do the same thing, which is recovery for the
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: last twelve months.
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  Speaker 2: Drew Wagner. Always good to catch up with you mate,
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for your time.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Thanks Codie, have lovely day you too.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: That is the Minerals Council Executive director there, Drew Wagner