The White Paper on Developing Northern Australia was a White Paper produced by the
Abbott government
The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...
to examine ways to invest in economic development of the
north of Australia. The paper concerned parts of Australia north of the Tropic of Capricorn, from Western Australia, through the Northern Territory and into Queensland.
Terms of Reference
The terms of reference of the paper stated that the Government would produce a White Paper to "set out a clear, well-defined and timely policy platform for realising the full economic potential of the north, including a plan for implementing these policies over the next two, five, 10 and 20 years:"
The Government wanted the Paper to produce a stocktake of northern Australia's natural, geographic and strategic assets, and the potential for further development of the region's minerals, energy, agricultural, tourism, defence and other industries, as well as a comprehensive assessment of risks and impediments to growth and set out agreed policy actions via a cross-agency Taskforce in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
A new Northern Australia Strategic Partnership comprising the Prime Minister and the Premiers of Queensland and Western Australia and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory was established, to provide leadership on the development of northern Australia and inform the development and implementation of the White Paper.
The Paper
In June 2015, the
Abbott government
The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...
released the first ever White Paper on Developing Northern Australia. The Paper contained policy proposals for the development of the north as an "economic powerhouse" over the next two decades, and examined new roads, studies of dam sites, changes to land-use laws as part of a development blueprint.
Elements of the push for northern development included boosting links with the Asia-Pacific economies; a $600 million roads package; money to upgrade airstrips and explore rail freight options; a $100 million beef roads fund and a $5 billion concessional loans facility; a $200 million water infrastructure fund and a plan to study river systems for dams viability; support for native title bodies and new surveys to start simplifying land arrangements for economic investment; and a $75 million Cooperative Research Centre.
See also
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Northern Australia Beef Roads Program
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Northern Australia Roads Program
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Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper
The Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper was produced by the Abbott government, and released on 4 July 2015. It set out the Government of Australia’s roadmap of measures to grow the agriculture sector.
The Paper
According to the Department ...
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Savannah Way
External links
Our North, Our Future: White Paper on Developing Northern Australia
References
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Abbott government
Economy of Australia
Northern Australia
White papers
2015 documents