Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to touch on our federal budget last night and to look at it from the Northern Territory's perspective. In 2025-26, the government expects to provide the Northern Territory with $7.2 billion in funding, which is nearly 88.3 per cent of the Northern Territory's total revenue.

There has been a lot of media, over the last 24 to 48 hours, from members opposite—also from our CLP government in Darwin—saying that there hasn't been funding and that the Northern Territory has done badly in terms of the federal budget. It couldn't be further from the truth.

I think we've got a Northern Territory Treasurer with his L-plates on, who is doing nothing but playing politics. The NT at the moment is the biggest beneficiary in terms of GST payments. If we go back to under the Liberal government over 10 years, there was a reduction in the Northern Territory by over $310 million in GST payments. It has been fantastic to see that being reinstated by our government. You had the NT Treasurer coming out a week ago saying: 'Big win for the Northern Territory. This is fantastic,' pat, pat, pat, 'We've done a great job.' And then, the day of the budget and the next day he's saying: 'This is bad. This is terrible for the Northern Territory, and the NT has lost.' Get it right, stop contradicting yourselves and try and look at the budget papers and try and understand that a bit more.

I'm looking forward to getting back into my fantastic electorate, which is nearly the whole of the Northern Territory, except Darwin, and to visiting Christmas in Cocos islands. It is an electorate that this government has certainly recognised needs a lot of resources and support. When I look at the budget—I will go throughout the Northern Territory and sell this budget to my constituents—there has been substantial investment, particularly in infrastructure and connectivity. When we talk about connectivity, that's the NBN but also our highways. So it's important that the budget reflect not just the $200 million in terms of the duplication in that part of the Stuart Highway. Unlike the CLP senator, I drive that road quite a bit, and it is a part of the road that actually does need that money, so I'm looking forward to that happening, but it does need the CLP government to deliver on all of those infrastructure projects that we've outlined in our great federal budget.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.