Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McMahon for her question and recognise her strong passion to see the north developed, and to do that we need better roads in the Northern Territory. That is why the federal government is investing $1.6 billion upgrading roads in the Northern Territory. It will improve mobility, it will improve access to tourism in the Northern Territory and it will improve business with lower costs and by helping attract investment and more economic opportunity into the Territory.

Obviously, the Territory is an area of large distances, not just within the Territory itself but also between it and other parts of the economic activity of this nation. That means that, say, the livestock industry in the Territory often faces costs of more than a third of its final value of its product taken up in transport costs. So the more we can lower those costs for the industry the more opportunities that industry will have to attract investment and jobs in the Northern Territory.

That's why we're taking action on specific projects like the Tanami Road, which is between Alice Springs and Halls Creek in northern Western Australia. It was described once on Radio National Breakfast as the worst highway in Australia. It is in need of massive investment. This government is taking action. After decades of talk, finally we're acting to see investment on that. The CSIRO has estimated for us that upgrading or sealing parts of that road could save up to nearly $8 a head for livestock producers in that region. It will be a great benefit to the mining industry as well, who go through trucks like no tomorrow. We are upgrading the Outback Way—a different road. The Outback Way will be sealed progressively over the next decade across our continent, making only the third sealed route from eastern Australia to Western Australia in our nation's history. Finally, it will go right through Alice Springs and will make Alice the true centre of our nation, with a sealed highway to match with significant investment in the north. There are a variety of other roads we're investing in to help industry and to help the Territory get ahead, and that's why we are investing for northern Australia.