Tony Abbott says North Australia White Paper more than just talk

Radio transcript printed at ABC News on June 18, 2015.

In a radio segment featuring Prime Minister Tony Abbot, Nationals Leader Warren Truss, Trade Minister Andrew Robb, National Farmers Federation CEO Simon Talbot and Regional Australia Institute Deputy CEO Jack Archer, Sarah Everingham reports on the White Paper for North Australia.

This White Paper is designed to develop North Australia and the Government is promising to invest $1.2 billion in new projects in the area. This includes road servicing and water infrastructure as well as general development.  Everyone is in agreeance that this is one Government document that should no be put on the shelf to gather dust and both the Prime Minister and the Nationals Leader has promised to push it through due to its importance to Australia and our economy. With the North being so massive an area, it is a conceded fact that if it fails, the country will suffer and so every effort is going into ensuring that North Australia or ‘our Great North’ is being sufficiently developed. For this to work effectively the Government has a massive role to play.

CEO of National Farmers Federation, Simon Talbot, is enthusiastic about the development process as solid amounts of investment generally equates to a good and productive economy. He believes that the investments are going towards the right places for the economy to thrive.

Meanwhile Deputy CEO of the Regional Australian Institute, Jack Archer states “I think finally with this white paper, we’ve moved northern development out of the 19th century. What I can see in this white paper is a group of small investments that represent a real understanding of the barriers to northern development – things like Indigenous development of their land, tradeable water rights, commercialisation of knowledge.”