What will business say to Gunner about the economy?

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By ERWIN CHLANDA
 
What should be done about the NT Treasury prognosis that Territory debt will increase from $5.9 billion last November 2019 to $35.7 billion by 2029-30?
 
That’s the question Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Bicknell (at left) is putting to his members.
 
He’s asking them to respond to a survey whose result he says will be “conveyed loudly to Government and our political leaders to ensure they focus on genuine Territory development – rather than political spin doctoring and gloss.
 
“Anecdotally, we are aware that many NT businesses are going through tough times and it is important to now gather some factual data on the extent and nature of this pain.”
 
The survey contains these questions: “The NT Government is currently borrowing to cover day-to-day costs” and gives the members these choices for reform:-
 
• Reduce Public Sector Staffing costs (especially at the executive levels).
 
• Reduce general operating costs (including travel and administration costs).
 
• Reduce the use of consultants (especially interstate consultants).
 
• Reduce government programs.
 
• Outsource the delivery of warranted programs to the private sector (to achieve operational savings).
 
• Other suggestions.
 
And: “Please rate what are the key factors you believe are greatly affecting the economy?
 
“Population; economic climate; government policy; business competition; other factors.”
 
And finally, the survey is asking: “If there were two or three messages you would want us to convey directly to the Chief Minister and his Government on your behalf – what would they be?”
 
 
 

5 COMMENTS

  1. What will business say to Gunner about the economy?
    Well if you had been gifted a ship lift or a juicy contract to build a grandstand you would be very enthusiastic in your support.

  2. With a tiny population relative to the rest of Australia, 2000,000 and shrinking, the NT economy is in recession and dragging Australia that way as a whole.
    The NT cannot keep borrowing to see its debt balloon three billion dollars every year for the next 10 years. We do not have the capacity to pay it back.
    I see the numbers as a conservative estimate and that the NT economy has its hardest days ahead.
    Charles Darwin University nutcase activists will ensure this. I have never seen Darwin so quiet and the rest like Katherine, Alice Springs looking like ghost towns relative to 10 years ago.
    Fiscal reality is that the NT cannot carry Aboriginal people and the Commonwealth will only allocate resources as per the national agreement.
    Western Australia had enough and put the foot down contributing huge amounts to the economy and only receiving a pittance in return.
    This will never happen again even in a Labor government. That is why Tasmania is known as the welfare state and the NT as the welfare territory.
    The NT will be a poor place to live for a long time unless it can rid itself of idiot activists wrecking their economy and that Aboriginal people start working, who will invest and live in a violent, dysfunctional community?
    Time to straighten things out or suffer the fiscal consequence.

  3. Top Tip: Stop employing public servants who live interstate. Employ people that actually live here. Remote workers do nothing for the NT economy or population!
    Also, perhaps try a zero based budget. That way all the recurrent waste can be eliminated and all the bureaucratic cost which have no measurable benefit for the public can be scrutinised and thrown out.
    If the public were aware of the immense waste on items such as politically correct, achieve nothing “training” sessions and other various programs for public servants, you would be all mortified.

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