Northern Territory budget 2023: Who are the winners and losers?

Northern Territory Treasurer Eva Lawler has dubbed her inaugural — and big-spending — budget as one that "will deliver for all Territorians".

But in the game of territory budgets, as in life, there are always some winners and losers.

Here are some of the ways this year's NT budget could affect you, your family and the territory.

Winner: Roads and infrastructure

There are no road networks in Australia quite like the NT's, where roads cross thousands of square kilometres to cover and connect some of the nation's most remote communities and industries.

Many of them have long been languishing in a state of deterioration.

This year the budget aims to see that changed for many, with nearly half of the NT's 2023-24 infrastructure spend heading to roads.

The big ticket items include:

• $215 million to support the construction of roads to support gas industry projects, in the wake of fracking in the Beetaloo Basin getting the green light
• $178 million to seal the remote Tanami highway that connects remote Central Australia to far north WA. The track is a big thoroughfare for the cattle industry, as well as First Nations families
• $165 million to construct the Tiger Brennan Drive overpass in Darwin, an area once known as a hotspot for traffic incidents

Winner: Mining, industry and tourism 

Aside from the multibillion-dollar spend on the region's roads — which should have some significant flow-on effects for some of the NT's main employers, from cattle to tourism — mining and industry were treated well in today's budget.

The push is on to convince miners to mine and tourists to tour the territory, so these sectors have been thrown a fair bit of cash to be able to entice business and tourism to come here.

Off the back of a couple of lean years thanks largely to the pandemic, industry heads are already welcoming the renewed focus on industry and infrastructure by the Labor government – they just want to ensure that the promises of spending are kept, and the money flows through the doors.

• $515 million ongoing for the planned Darwin ship lift facility
• $35.6 million for tourism marketing over the next two years
• $6 million over four years to help attract mining investment

Loser: Health

The health system in the NT is under immense strain — one only has to look at the 'code yellow' still hanging over Royal Darwin Hospital to know that staff are being overwhelmed.

However, today's budget shows a large chunk of funding has been pulled from the health budget — though this shouldn't come as a surprise, as this budget was always going to fall after the COVID-19 pandemic.

But perhaps the department's priorities are questionable. While more money is being poured into corporate areas and governance, remote primary health care is receiving a pretty sizeable cut. Not great.

• $37.3 million for upgrades at Darwin, Alice Springs and Gove hospitals
• $48.7 million for a new 32-bed ward at Royal Darwin Hospital
• $3 million per year for three years to replace ageing equipment

Neutral: Law and order

Rising rates of crime and anti-social behaviour across the Northern Territory has become a massive political issue over the past 12 months, and this budget goes some way to addressing that — but not the whole way.

There has already been criticism from the NT Opposition that the government has all but ignored the needs of police, by granting the force a relatively minor increase to its annual budget considering the magnitude of the challenges faced by officers on the ground.

However, the overwhelmed NT prison system has received a significant increase, balancing this out.

• A $13 million increase to the annual NT Police budget, from $513 million to $526 million
• $19 million for a new police station at Peppimenarti in the West Daly region
• A $45 million increase to the NT Correctional Services budget over the next two years
• A $20 million increase over two years for domestic and family violence services

Winner: Housing

One of the largest infrastructure spends in this year's budget is on trying to tackle the chronic problem of overcrowding in remote communities.

Of the substantial infrastructure spending put forward this year, remote community and urban housing upgrades and refurbishment take home more than 20 per cent of the whole pie.

But included in that nearly billion-dollar spend is a commitment to build more urban public housing, and free up more residential land to be released across the towns and city.

Considering the long waitlists for public housing, and the difficulty of getting a place of one's own, the government putting more on the table can't be a terrible thing.

• $842 million for remote and urban housing
• $19 million for "flexible accommodation infrastructure" in Tennant Creek
• $104 million for land releases in Darwin, Katherine, Alice and Tennant Creek

Neutral: Cost of living

The NT treasurer is touting this budget as a big success for territory residents feeling the pinch from the cost of living.

However, on Eva Lawler's own metrics, some of the key factors aiming to lower family costs are external to the policies of government, such as Darwin's stagnating rental market.

The NT's Council of Social Services has described the budget as a "missed opportunity" for society's most vulnerable. They would have liked to see more money put aside for things like safe houses.

But the government has moved to put a cap on ever inflating electricity bills — putting this one on neutral ground.

• A 2.7 per cent increase to utility tariffs for 2023-24 – below the level of inflation
• $6.9 million for the Back to School Payment scheme, offering $150 to every enrolled student
• $40.6 million to support territory seniors through concessions on a range of essential goods

Loser: Environment

As the territory's fragile environment continues to face floods and droughts, this NT budget doesn't contain huge amounts of money to future-proof the region against the challenges linked to global warming.

The NT government has committed almost $15 million to the Office of Climate Change to coordinate the territory's response, and allocated $13.5 million to finalising the territory's water management and regulations.

However, considering how precious the resource is, the spending could be judged as just a drop in the ocean.

• $7.3 million over two years for a renewable remote power program, including hydrogen trials
• $1.7 million over four years to collect wind resource data
• $5.4 million over two years to progress electricity market reforms to achieve a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2050

Neutral: Education

The Northern Territory's education sector is one of the most important foundational blocks of the jurisdiction. Ms Lawler, the treasurer, is also the education minister and knows this well.

However, considering the urgent need to better engage young people in school across the territory, to help quell some of the region's most serious social issues, the focus on education here is not monumental.

• An $11 million annual budget increase between 2022-23 and 2023-24
• Much of this increase will go to the department's corporate and shared services
• $9.7 million to construct a new science centre at Katherine High School

Loser: Women

Northern Territory women don't appear to be front and centre of this year's budget, despite the fact that seven out of nine of the NT government's cabinet ministers are female.

With a focus on largely male-dominated industries such as construction and mining, and no significant increases to departments such as health and education, this budget appears to be one for the boys.

There has also been no obvious significant investment into women's safe houses in a jurisdiction that has the highest domestic violence rates in the nation. While in fairness, there have been some funding increases for domestic and family violence services, considering the scale of the challenge, it isn't enough.

• $45 million for maternity services in NT hospitals
• $3.1 million for free mammograms
• $4 million for Arnhem Land health centres, outreach services and women's programs

Neutral: Arts & culture

From remote Arnhem Land to the Central Desert and downtown Darwin, the Northern Territory's art scene is one of the most vibrant and talented in the world.

It's never going to attract as much spending attention as the territory's economic drawcard industries such as  tourism and resources, but at the same time, it hasn't done too shabbily for itself in this NT budget.

The main hallmark of budget spending on the arts for 2023 will be on the new Northern Territory Art Gallery, being built outside of Parliament House in the Darwin CBD.

• $145 million for the planned Civic and State Square redevelopment, which will include a new art gallery
• Thousands for territory galleries in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Arnhem Land
• $3.5 million over two years to plan for the National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs