Debates Day 5 - Wednesday 17 October 2007
Parliamentary Record 17
Debates for 10th Assembly 2005 - 2008; 10th Assembly 2005 - 2008; Parliamentary Record; ParliamentNT
2007-10-17
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
English
Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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DEBATES Wednesday 17 October 2007 4860 industries such as bulk minerals to China, utilising the backloading capacity of our road and rail networks to deliver mining consumables from Asia into the mining industries of northern and Central Australia, and identifying new export market opportunities such as those we are pursuing in Japan based around energy - that is, gas exports - and Vietnam, which includes growing new sustainable live cattle exports, education and tourism services. It is a comprehensive strategy that will benefit all Territorians, and I would like now to provide members with some of the detail and outcomes from our work. Establishing shipping links with Indonesia and the greater South-East Asian region to support our mining supply trade has been a key priority for the government in developing the AustralAsia Trade Route. Over the last two years, we have been promoting Darwin to a range of regional Asian shipping lines and Indonesian mining procurement executives as a logical mining supply and service centre. This work is beginning to reap rewards, with the recent addition of direct scheduled shipping services to Darwin by MOCEAN Shipping. MOCEAN commenced operations in July 2007 with the aptly named vessel, the Territory Trader. The shipping line will provide new services between Indonesia and Darwin. Just recently, MOCEAN announced a second vessel will join its service, sailing between South-East Asia and northern Australia, effectively increasing its service capacity and frequency. The new MOCEAN service has also begun to call at the port of Hai Phong in Vietnam, providing regular shipping connections for commodities supporting oil and gas drilling programs with their bases in Darwin. In addition, Territory companies are now provided with direct links to Surabaya, a gateway for mining support products destined to the large mining and oil and gas operations in eastern Indonesia. This is an exciting development for the Territory and again demonstrates the value of the AustralAsia Trade Route in opening opportunities for new trade for Territory business. I take this opportunity to wish our friends at MOCEAN Shipping continuing success in the future. As members may recall, Hai Win Shipping established a regular monthly service between Shanghai and Darwin in January 2006. The monthly service is operating well, with the latest vessel completing a direct call just last month, with further scheduled voyages listed for early and late November 2007. Hai Win has recently informed us of their plans for an additional vessel to join their fleet, which would result in a fortnightly service connecting north Asia with Darwin. Again, the growth of these services is a testament to the increasing awareness of the benefits the AustralAsia Trade Route can offer traders. It is also tangible evidence of the success of our work over the past six years. I also make the point that existing operators within the Port of Darwin, such as Perkins and Swires, continue to provide an important service linking Darwin to Singapore and a range of other destinations across Asia. Indeed, during the recent Chief Ministers Northern Territory Export and Industry Awards, I had the pleasure of announcing Perkins Shipping as the NT Exporter of the Year. We will continue to work with all shipping service providers to ensure we continue to increase international trade and business for all Territorians. The Darwin Business Park continues to play a key role in the development of the AustralAsia Trade Route. It provides a seamless interface between rail and road services, and is instrumental in the efficient consolidation and distribution of goods. Toll Holdings, the Business Parks foundation client and Australias largest transport and logistics company, has now completed its $5m Stage 2 expansion for Foster's Group at the Park. Other recent developments at the Business Park include: Shaws Transport $8.5m development of a transport and logistics warehouse facility, currently under construction with completion expected in February 2008; John Bain Westrans $3m transport and logistics base development is nearing completion; and Gwelo Developments will be constructing a 7000 m2 warehouse storage facility with 250 m2 of office space. Work is set to begin by Christmas. Madam Speaker, I can report that of the initial 50 ha of the Darwin Business Park site, only a couple of allotments remain, which is a terrific effort. Due to the confidential nature of negotiations and contract arrangements, I am not at liberty to announce them all. What I can say is that the strategic value of the business park and its close proximity to the rail marshalling yards and East Arm Wharf is now paying significant dividends for the Territory. This is a great result and further underlines how important our initial investments are in developing the AustralAsia Trade Route. More importantly, it will be Territorians who benefit from new private sector infrastructure investment and job creation within the business park itself. Another key trade opportunity underpinned by development of the AustralAsia Trade Route is bulk mineral exports. Our Growing the Trade Route strategy has a clear goal of developing Darwin as the port of choice for bulk mineral