Budget Paper 1994-95 No.6 Northern Territory Economy
Tabled Paper 2156
Tabled Papers for 6th Assembly 1990 - 1994; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
1994-05-12
Tabled by Barry Coulter
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00044
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/292876
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/398240
Overview estim ated unem ploym ent rate remains am ong the lowest o f all A ustralian States and Territories, and w ell below the national average o f 1 0 .8 %. W hile the Territory onshore econom y recorded strong grow th in 1993/94, overall econom ic activity, as m easured by G ross State Product is estim ated to have increased by 1.0%. This m ainly reflects sign ifican t increases in the production o f key m inerals offsetting a further decline in the value o f offshore oil production. Since the p ro fit from oil production largely accrues to investors outside the N orthern Territory, and royalty revenues from offshore oil production flow directly to the C om m onw ealth, Territorians have not been directly affected by the recent decline in the value o f oil production. Following a protracted period o f subdued activity, grow th in the national econom y began to accelerate in m id 1993/94, grow ing by an estim ated 3.5% , during the financial year. This grow th was essentially due to consum er spending and investm ent in housing, reinforced by rising net exports. Business investm ent rem ained subdued during the year, however, a strong im provem ent in business profits and business confidence is likely to stim ulate increased econom ic activ ity nationally in 1994/95. D espite sluggish grow th in m ost OECD nations, strong grow th in A sian econom ies (except for Japan) and m odest grow th in the USA are expected to produce rising w orld com m odity prices over the com ing year. A resum ption o f grow th in m ainland Europe and Japan will provide additional stim ulus for rising w orld com m odity prices. These factors, together with the significance o f the Territorys m ining sector, the national drive to further develop investment and trade links w ith the A sian region, in particular through Darw in, will provide a prom ising m edium term outlook for the Territory economy.