NT economic summits draw to a close

After five months of significant work and consultation, the Northern Territory’s economic summits process is drawing to a close. The final meetings were held in Alice Springs and Darwin on 24 and 29 March, marking the end of a five month process involving meetings with business and industry, community groups, the non-profit sector, indigenous organisations, federal and local government representatives. These summits outlined the position of the Territory economy, the challenge of meeting the Territory’s future infrastructure needs and the discussion of long-term plans addressing issues such as job creation, and regional growth.

Agribusiness was one of the topics discussed, with over 100 people attending the summit in Alice Springs to provide input to the Territory’s draft Economic Development Framework (EDF), and 300 people attending the Darwin summit.

Some key messages around agribusiness during the summit included:

• the need for 10 year targets and the establishment of a baseline for these now
• discussions around the idea of developing precincts for development with pre-arranged approvals to expedite investment
• how industries could leverage each other, for example plant industries supplying feed for the emerging aquaculture sector
• support for Central Australia to leverage competitive advantage, for example organic cattle and fodder
• connectivity to market so growers remain in touch and linked.

Department staff not only participated in the sessions, but also co-facilitated several of the industry breakout sessions including agribusiness, environment services, renewable energy and mining and energy.

Comments on the Economic Development Framework and infrastructure plans closed on Monday 3 April. A final version of the Economic Development Framework is expected in the coming weeks. For further information visit the Economic Summit website. The key messages from the Alice Springs summit and the Darwin summit can be found in Communique #1 and Communique #2.