Cutting red and green tape is a key priority under the federal government’s new framework, but the wider vision goes much further.

Along with lobby groups and industry collectives, the government is looking to transform our northern cities into bustling hives of industry and tourism.

On paper the plan makes perfect sense, but like everything north of the 26th parallel it’s easier said than done.

Long history

Development in northern Australia has long been the prize of state and federal governments, and with good reason.

The region accounts for about $A96 billion or 54% of the nation’s exports and is on Asia’s doorstep, the world’s fastest growing regional economy.

It’s home to vast natural resources, not just in mining, and is on the receiving end of about 60% of the nation’s rainfall.

These strengths haven’t been lost on lawmakers over the years and the new federal plan to 2030 forms part of a broader vision across the northern states, with some dreams dating back to federation.

The late Sir Charles Court, premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982, provides one of the best examples of a vision coming to fruition.

Court was the architect of a number of important development initiatives up north during his time in government, and was a strong promoter of the region’s resource potential.

His work formed part of a broader move that opened up the region and paved the way for the gas boom on the North West Shelf and iron ore boom in the Pilbara.

But history is also littered with less successful attempts and pipe dreams, including the WA-Queensland rail link and Kimberley-Perth canal.

Those failures alone are proof of how hard it can be to develop the isolated and inhospitable great north.

Deregulation the key

Plans for development above the 26th parallel entail a whole range of social and economic initiatives, and priorities have already been sketched out to help the mining and resources sector.

Relief from red and green tape is high on the agenda, along with a potential tax break, and these measures have been welcomed by policy think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.

IPA research fellow Patrick Hannaford told MiningNews.net red tape was an issue for all local businesses and new measures were needed to bring Australia back in line with its competitors.

“It’s important to realise that even if we have the benefit of having resources, that doesn’t mean that we can just increase taxes and regulation endlessly and still get the revenue from these projects going ahead,” he said.

“Mining companies are generally global, and they have scarce resources that they’re going to spend on exploration and development.

“If our regulatory burden is substantially higher than other countries then they will go to those other countries.”

Hannaford pointed to the latest Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum as proof Australia needed to up its game.

On that measure Australia ranks 124th in the world in terms of the burden of government regulation, substantially worse than comparable countries such as Canada and the United States.

On the mining front in particular, Hannaford said trimming down the approvals process could bring significant benefits.

To get some sense of the boost those reforms could bring, research from BA Economics last year showed reducing the time companies had to wait by one year would create 69,000 jobs and increase GDP by 1.5% by the year 2025.

“That would be a substantial benefit not just to the minerals and resources sector but also the flow on effects would be a great help to the Australian economy,” Hannaford said.

Of course, these changes are easier said than done, particularly in Australia’s fragmented political landscape.

The federal government has already had its proposal for a one-stop shop environmental process knocked back in the Senate, and similar policies for northern Australia could face further opposition.

But regardless of the political hurdles, there’s no question deregulation remains an important part of future development up north.

“It’s important to realise that we have these regulations added by government and if you look at them individually there might be a rational reason to have each individual regulation, however the cumulative effect of all of those regulations is very harmful on both Australian businesses and people trying to live their lives and make a living for themselves,” Hannaford said.

Outside policy reform infrastructure bottlenecks are a key issue, along with housing affordability and other incentives to lure workers north – and keep them there.

It’s a complex picture and there’s no silver bullet, but like the opening of the Pilbara 50 years ago, the work done today can set the stage for the future returns.