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Katie Woolf spoke with Minister for Infrastructure Planning & Logistics Eva Lawler · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Well, certainly a lot of discussion this morning about the
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  Speaker 1: federal budget and what it means for Territorians. Now joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line is the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning
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  Speaker 1: and Logistics, Eva Lola. Good morning, morning, Katie Minister. What
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  Speaker 1: was your reaction to the federal budget overnight?
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  Speaker 2: Ah, I mean, I think we're pleased with it. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: the announcements were made on Monday around the roads infrastructure,
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  Speaker 2: so we'd obviously had that early announcement, but I'm the
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  Speaker 2: ninety six million around road safety. The opportunity to be
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  Speaker 2: able to apply and get funding around road safety initials
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  Speaker 2: at ninety six million was a one that was that
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  Speaker 2: we didn't know about it basically, so it's a great
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  Speaker 2: one and we'll be able to put in applications for
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  Speaker 2: a whole heap of work around that. So yeah, I
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  Speaker 2: think overall a good solid story for the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a really different sort of budget, I
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  Speaker 1: guess to what we're used to in the sense that
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  Speaker 1: usually we're keeping a really close eye on, you know,
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  Speaker 1: what's in it for the Northern territory. But the fact
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  Speaker 1: is COVID's made it such a different cult situation for
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  Speaker 1: everybody that it was more about tax breaks and incentives
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  Speaker 1: to try and employ people and keep people in jobs.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, of course we push the infrastructure, and
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  Speaker 2: you know, we want to get our share, and we
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  Speaker 2: know we're smaller in population, but also in Landmasks we
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  Speaker 2: are up there and equal with other states. So our
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  Speaker 2: story around roads infrastructure, any dollars we can get for
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  Speaker 2: roads is a good news story as far as I'm concerned,
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  Speaker 2: because I reckon every single day I have somebody coming
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  Speaker 2: into my office, so whether it's local government, whether it's
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  Speaker 2: tourism operators all asking about bitchmizing roads, particularly our outback roads.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, good stories.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, which roads are really going to benefit? So those
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  Speaker 1: territorians out there listening this morning who maybe aren't as
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  Speaker 1: you know, don't know exactly where that money's going to go.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So I mean the budget is a point in
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  Speaker 2: time as well. But there's also been some good stories
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  Speaker 2: that we've had in the last sort of twelve or
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  Speaker 2: eight months surround road so specifically the Carbon Terrier Highway
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  Speaker 2: that one hundred and twenty millions, so the Carbon Terrier
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  Speaker 2: Highway for those who have traveled on it from daily
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  Speaker 2: Waters to Borolula most of that is old single lane
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  Speaker 2: and I tell a story. I think my father who's
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  Speaker 2: long dead, was involved in building that originally. So it's
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  Speaker 2: you know, there's been some areas that have been widened,
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  Speaker 2: but that will be very very useful to have cooler
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  Speaker 2: linga intersection as well. That Stretcher Road in front of
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  Speaker 2: the cooler Linger shops. You know, when the Stuart Highway
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  Speaker 2: went through there, there was one service station originally and
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  Speaker 2: now it's one of our big busiest areas in the
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  Speaker 2: top end. So that's a really good story. Forty seven
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  Speaker 2: million for the National Road Network. So there's already been
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  Speaker 2: some COVID money about the same amount that has been
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  Speaker 2: there for strengthening and widening and upgrades and so some
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  Speaker 2: of the top end people. If you're driving past Virginia,
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  Speaker 2: you would have seen those new metal barriers going in
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  Speaker 2: between Palmerston and Howard Springs and then around Brook and
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  Speaker 2: Creek there. So those amounts of money forty seven million,
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  Speaker 2: it's a good solid amounts of money that provide ongoing
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  Speaker 2: work for some of our small operators. So whether it's
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  Speaker 2: putting in you know, as you said, widening the road
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  Speaker 2: fixing areas of the roads that have deteriorated or putting
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  Speaker 2: in safety barriers, line marking upgrades. You know, they're they're
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  Speaker 2: positive things because it's about small operators as big as
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  Speaker 2: well as big operators. So overall, some really nice money.
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  Speaker 1: There now, Minister, when we talk about infrastructure, could more
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  Speaker 1: have been announced when it comes to shovel ready projects.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you know there is there are projects that
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  Speaker 2: are always you know that governments have that are ready,
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  Speaker 2: shovel ready and so things like you know that we
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  Speaker 2: would like to see so and the reality is that
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  Speaker 2: the money that comes from the Northern Territory government budget
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  Speaker 2: and you know we paste that out over the you know,
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  Speaker 2: it might be a two to three year commitment around that.
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  Speaker 2: You know, you do design work, you commit to that,
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  Speaker 2: then you might three or four five million in to start.
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  Speaker 2: So the mand or a jetty is one of those
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  Speaker 2: where you know we're rolling that out. That would have
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  Speaker 2: been a nice one to see the FEDS put the
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  Speaker 2: you know, some dollars into that one for example, or
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  Speaker 2: the Use Justice Center. So we've got some good, solid,
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  Speaker 2: big projects that our government have got that's underway. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we'd like to have seen some nice money to come
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  Speaker 2: to those. But the reality is, you know, we didn't
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  Speaker 2: and we'll continue to work to achieve that. You know,
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  Speaker 2: there is another budget cycle coming up very soon. We've
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  Speaker 2: got our budget to be done. You know, I heard
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  Speaker 2: Leah talking and it was almost like you send in
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  Speaker 2: a wish list. It doesn't work like that when you're
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  Speaker 2: in government. Of course, you have you know, you have
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  Speaker 2: your desires and what you'd like to see, but there
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  Speaker 2: has to be considerable work around developing a project up
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  Speaker 2: so that the public sector in the Northern Territory as
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  Speaker 2: well as the federal you know, they work around. You
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  Speaker 2: can't just say, oh, you know, I want this to happen.
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  Speaker 2: You actually have to do, you know, mon some months
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  Speaker 2: of work around, design around, you know, all of you
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  Speaker 2: have to convince the federal government that it's a good
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  Speaker 2: use of their money.
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  Speaker 1: And so were their shovel ready projects put forward to
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  Speaker 1: the federal government that we missed out on, Yes, there were.
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  Speaker 2: But there's always you know, we're always having those conversations
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  Speaker 2: with the federal government around projects that we'd like to see.
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  Speaker 2: And so, you know, there is some nice money that
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  Speaker 2: came out the middle of last year around the National
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  Speaker 2: Partnership Agreement on Land transport. So there's some money for
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  Speaker 2: the Tanami for example, so two hundred million for the
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  Speaker 2: Tanami Road. Well that road needs about six hundred million.
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  Speaker 2: So of course we would have loved to have seen
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  Speaker 2: in this budget a commitment and you know those things
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  Speaker 2: would happen over three or four years. For the Tanami
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  Speaker 2: for example, or the Central Arnam Road, there's two hundred
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  Speaker 2: and twenty five million in the land Transport agreement around that.
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  Speaker 2: That's not enough to bitumize the whole um Central Arum Road.
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  Speaker 2: So there are things like that that you'd like to see.
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  Speaker 2: So as a government, absolutely focus on things that will
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  Speaker 2: give long term economic benefit. And we've seen some of
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  Speaker 2: those really good projects like the Keep River Road, the
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  Speaker 2: Arnham Highway, the Mango Roads, the Outback Way. You've seen
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  Speaker 2: you know, the Anti government work very well with the
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  Speaker 2: Federal government to roll out those projects. And then there
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  Speaker 2: are one off shovel ready projects as well.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, can I just ask there's a bit of you know,
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  Speaker 1: there's a bit of discussion at the moment about GST.
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  Speaker 1: I know that the federal opposition it said that the
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  Speaker 1: budget will rack up a trillion dollars of debt, but
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory is going to be coppying a one
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  Speaker 1: hundred million million dollar cut to our GST payments. Mattias
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  Speaker 1: Gorman had a different take on it this morning. Take
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  Speaker 1: a listen to what he had to say.
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  Speaker 3: Let me be very explicit. The Northern Territory in twenty
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  Speaker 3: twenty one is expected to receive two point seven billion
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  Speaker 3: dollars in GST payments and that is an increase, an
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  Speaker 3: increase of two on on twenty one point six million
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  Speaker 3: dollars compared to twenty nineteen twenty Minister, where.
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  Speaker 1: Is the fusion here? What's the situation? Is it a
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  Speaker 1: cash or an increase in GST?
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  Speaker 2: Well, obviously we believe that it's one hundred million dollar reduction,
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  Speaker 2: so that two point seven billion, but it is about
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  Speaker 2: those forecasts and those budget forecasts going forward, so it
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  Speaker 2: is more optimistic than what we thought. But the reality is,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the GST is going down. When you've got
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  Speaker 2: victorians locked up, they're not actually spending money. You know,
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  Speaker 2: that's where the GST bucket is. The GST bucket. So
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  Speaker 2: there has been a reduction. I'll let the treasurers discuss
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  Speaker 2: that one in more detail. But you know, our belief
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  Speaker 2: is that there is a reduction in GST. But you
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  Speaker 2: know the other side of the coin, which is a
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  Speaker 2: positive And as I said, I firmly believe. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. That's one
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  Speaker 2: of my life saying. You know that money that we've got,
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  Speaker 2: ninety six million, that is exclusive of GST. So usually
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  Speaker 2: in the territory it's eighty twenty when we pay for roads,
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  Speaker 2: Fed's pay eighty, we pay twenty and that money comes
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  Speaker 2: out of our GSP. So that ninety six million for roads,
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  Speaker 2: we need to make sure and we will definitely, I'll
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  Speaker 2: be pushing that we get every single cent of that
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  Speaker 2: money because that is exclusive of our GST, so that
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  Speaker 2: money can all come to us. But you know there
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  Speaker 2: is a product for that that we will see improved
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  Speaker 2: roads in the territory. So you know, I I heard Leah,
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  Speaker 2: I'm the leader of the opposition speaking just before I spoke.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I would like to know what she's gone
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  Speaker 2: into bat for for the territory as well, And same
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  Speaker 2: with Sam McMahon. It's not about paying you know, petty
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  Speaker 2: politics or anything like that. This is for the benefit
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  Speaker 2: of territori ands we've come through COVID. We need to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that you know our local members, our local
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  Speaker 2: opposition are all on the same page and so you
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  Speaker 2: know you're asking me what we went into, what did
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  Speaker 2: Leah put forward, because she should have been lobbying hard
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  Speaker 2: as well to make sure that the territory benefit from
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  Speaker 2: as many dollars as we could get.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and logisticks Evia Laula. Always
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  Speaker 1: good to catch up with you. Thanks so much for
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  Speaker 1: your time today.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Katie, thank you