Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Certainly in regard to my being a representative, I can assure you that, in the context of the Northern Territory, every time there's a budget I get a pretty serious belting about why we receive such a low amount in comparison to some of the bigger states. As I reiterated, Senator, this is a methodical assessment and this is the same process that is applied—yes, when we live in less populated centres like South Australia and the Northern Territory, none of our constituents enjoy the fact that we're spending $5 billion on infrastructure in Victoria and they're all saying, 'Why can't they do it in that state?' I do sympathise with you. But, again, I would reiterate that this is a methodical assessment of infrastructure priorities. They are taken through Infrastructure Australia. We believe in government that this is the best way to invest. This isn't just a pork-barrelling exercise; this is about making sure that our priorities are actually matched with the needs of infrastructure in Australia.