The newly elected Country Liberal Party has announced it is deferring the planned redevelopment of the venue as part of efforts to save $200 million in the territory’s economy.
Treasurer Bill Yan says decisions are being made to ensure Northern Territory taxpayers’ money is being spent on priority projects.
“Prior to the election, we said we would identify $185 million in savings measures and reprioritisations to help fund our election commitments,” he says.
“We have commenced this work and taken the decisions to pause the undergrounding of high-voltage powerlines running along corridors in Darwin, suspend negotiations with the NBL about a local [basketball] franchise, and deferred the upgrade to Darwin Convention Centre.
“That is $200 million we currently do not have, which would have been funded by debt.
“The CLP Government is committed to living within its means and has already begun identifying areas where existing funding can be redirected towards higher priority initiatives.
“All three projects have their merits, and I’m sure there will be some Territorians who disagree with these decisions, however had Labor not racked up $9 billion in debt in the past eight years, with little lasting legacy to show for it, we may be in a different position.”
Yan says he will seek out assistance from the Federal Government to bring the Darwin Convention Centre upgrade to life.
“We need to come up with a plan to work out how much this is really going to cost and stage this project into the future,” he says.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo has taken aim at the new Northern Territory Government for the decision.
“They are trying to suggest this [high-voltage powerlines] project, which was budgeted at $60 million over six years, plus scrapping a $19.2 million upgrade to Darwin Convention Centre, will somehow save $115 million over four years,” she says.
