Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Federal Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Federal Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wolf and three point sixty online at Mix
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com. The Federal government has
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: today outlined a major new investment package which is aimed
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: at supporting new job creation, digital connectivity and growing business
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: throughout Australia's North. The Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Keith Pitt, joins me on the line right now. Good
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: morning to you, Keith.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Great with you.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, great to have you on the show. Now, tell
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this, well, one hundred
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: and ninety million dollar investment through our North, our future.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: It's an investment plan I well as part of.
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: The refresh Agenda our next five years and delivering for
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: the North. Well, we want to connect the North to
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: the world.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: It shouldn't matter right where you live. It should matter
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: whether you're in Kenes or Kanamara or Canbra.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: You should have the same levels of digital connectivity as
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: every other astrain and we're looking to ensure that that
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: can happen.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Now, how will this how will this refresh gender deliver more?
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: I know that some have been critical obviously of what
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: they would say is a bit of a lack of
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: movement or as fast as they'd like. Maybe when it
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: comes to developing the North, how will this help.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: We've already delivered billions of dollars in the last five years,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: as you know, Katie. But this one hundred and ninety
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: million has broken up into three key components. That is
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: a pilot program for what we're calling Regions of Growth,
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: around sixty eight million dollars for connecting Northern Australia, and
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: then a Northern Australia Development program.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Worth around one hundred and twelve million dollars.
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: Now, the really exciting part, in my view is around
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: the digital connectivity. It's ensuring that we can start to
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: address more mobile black spots, more data connections, and we
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: want to make sure we can connect the North to
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: the world. Align with the Prime Minister's announcement this morning
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: one point two billion dollars towards the digital economy. I
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: think there's real opportunities in the North around automation, around
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: the use of drones and agricultural advances. You've got to
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: be connected to the world to make that happen.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Now, what will does this mean for the likes of
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Darwin but also for our more regional and remote locations.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: I will obviously be looking to partner with those private
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: providers that are out there to maximize the banks for buck.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: In fact, we're here in Rockampton at Beef Week the
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: Gateway to the North. Minister Mark Colton's just are now
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: from extension to the Regional Connectivity Program which has been
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: really successful and was way over subscribed. There's more money
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: into that as well, but we want to make sure
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: that those opportunities occur right across the North. Now, the
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Regions of Growth program is about being more targeted in
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: terms of our investments. We will look closely in the
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: first pilot areas.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Like Townsville, Mount Asa, I like Cananara.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: Across the Darwen and across the Broom, I like the
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Cansta glasson Lynks. And then in the next tier, which
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: we'll talk about in coming weeks, and that's around growth hubs,
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: regional hubs building on those strengths of Northern Australia.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: So what, well, I suppose for those out there listening
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: this morning who are maybe thinking to themselves, well, what
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: all this actually mean for us here in Darwin, what
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: would you say to them? Oh?
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Well, at a very simple level, it's a twenty five
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: million dollars towards the Mobile black Spot program, which has
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: been really successful now over a number of years. It's
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: forty one million for regional connectivity and that's about making
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: sure we can get those data connections.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Into those remote regional locations.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: And the one hundred and twelve million dollars now, this program
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: is about predominantly supporting.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Those mum and dad businesses.
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: You know, they're the backbone of the North Katie, as
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: you and I both know well, helping them scale up
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: to diversify.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: There's money in there around business case development.
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: We know a lot of organizations struggle to be able
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: to build that level of proposal, particularly when applying to
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: the nation, and we will make sure we can help
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: them out.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Keith. One of the issues that we're hearing a lot
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: in the territory at the moment, and no doubt you're
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: hearing it quite a lot in regional Queensland where you
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: are at the moment, is about a workforce shortage, not
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: only when you talk about our territory farmers, but also
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: even when we look at the likes of tourism and hospitality.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: No doubt you're hearing that very loudly and clearly right
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: now too.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: Absolutely and the new Minister and that portfolio.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: Stuart Rollt has that plenty to say about targeting skills
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: to match what the shortages are in those areas.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: I think that's a really positive move.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: But we need every Australian to be at work.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Coatie. Yeah, if you're out.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: There and you're looking for work, there's work for you
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: right now. And I just encourage everybody that's listening to
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: your show, get yourself out there, get.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Back in the workforce Australian need.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I know, we've got our NT farmers at the moment.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: We're actually about to catch up with them in a
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: couple of minutes. The NT Farmers Association, in partnership with
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: Hospitality NT. They're urging the territory and the Commonwealth governments
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: to utilize the Bladan Point Worker village that we've got
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: here in Darwin as a quarantine facility for their workforce requirements,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: so potentially looking at bringing some of those workers from
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: some of the safer countries overseas across to work you're
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: in the territory to fill some of those jobs that
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: we can't currently fill. I know you're not, you know,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: you're not across all the detail of what they're proposing,
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: But is this something that we realistically need to be
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: taking a bit of a closer look at.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: Oh, well, the Comonwealth's working closely with the state and
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: territory governments. I know there's been a lot of discussion
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: about quarantine facilities. We've already got how it springs in operations,
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: and I mean hotel quarantine for returning Australia has worked
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: very very well.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: It's been incredibly successful.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: We you only have to compare us to what's happening
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: in other countries around the world right now, Kai, the
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Australian people.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Have just done a phenomenal job.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: Now we'll continue to ensure that people are safe and
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: we'll also continue to ensure that we listen to the
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: health advice, particularly.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: As that changes, and it has changed in recent weeks.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: We know that India in particular is in a very
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: difficult position right now. That's why we've had to put
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: a pause on those returns. But will work our way
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: through these challenges that we have done over the last
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: twelve months.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and as you said, India it is a big concern.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: I know even today there's a report in the Alien
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: that the federal government you guys are looking at proposals
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: that those repatriated Australians, all of them really from India,
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: come through the Howard Springs facility. There's a lot of
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: looking to Northern Australia, particularly the territory at the moment
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: when it comes to our quarantining.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: Oh look, as the risk levels change and the advice changes,
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: will clearly we move. So we need these couple of
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: weeks out to May fifteenth to ensure that we've got
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: those things in place that are necessary are given the
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: increase in risk for travelers from India, and we've done
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: a good job so far, Katy, and as have all Australians.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: I just want to thank them all for what they've done.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: They've had some pretty hard yards to do in the
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: last twelve months, but the results have been fantastic.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Well. Federal Minister for Northern Australia, Keith Peter, it's always
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: good to catch up with you. Thanks for your time today.
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: Great with you, Katie, and don't forget the insurance package
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: that we've got to another ten billion dollars them a table,
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: get those insurance costs down.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Good on you, Keith. Thank you