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Speaker 1: We're heading straight to Parliament in Canberra, where my next

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Speaker 1: guest is. It's a Minister for Northern Australia, Madeline King.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to your minister.

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Speaker 2: Oh hi Katie, how are you going here? Get here

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Speaker 2: from Selena there?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Good too, Good to hear from you this morning, minister.

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Speaker 1: Obviously we had a bit of a shocker on the

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Speaker 1: weekend with Fiena coming through. She's caused quite a bit

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Speaker 1: of damage. I mean, it's we know as well that

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Speaker 1: Minister McBain here earlier in the week to announce some

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Speaker 1: funding which some Territorians are going to be eligible for.

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Speaker 1: How important is it from your perspective that the federal

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Speaker 1: government stands with the Northern Territory at this time?

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Speaker 2: Oh Katie, it's it's you know, remarkably important that the

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Speaker 2: Commerce government stand with the North. And we're really proud

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Speaker 2: to you and I really want to do a big

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Speaker 2: shout out to all Territorians and all those emergency service

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Speaker 2: workers that have gone in and helped out. Now does

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Speaker 2: it clean up after what was, you know, a big

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Speaker 2: tropical cyclone Fena, And you know what we know is

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Speaker 2: that territory are just so resilient, you know, you face

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Speaker 2: these kind of weather patterns and these cyclones you know,

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Speaker 2: every season, and I know it's stressful and it's hard

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Speaker 2: work and I'm really please. You know, my mate there,

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Speaker 2: Luke Goslin, the members of Solomon and Marion Springemore, the

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Speaker 2: member Fillingiari and along with Malandarry McCarthy, you know, we're

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Speaker 2: all there went through it. They were sending us videos

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Speaker 2: to what they were witnessing during when the cyclone passed through.

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Speaker 2: So we're really pleased to support the Northern Territory for

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Speaker 2: the disaster recovery absolutely well.

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Speaker 1: And Adeline. The conversation now sort of turning to our

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Speaker 1: underground power lines and you know, we just heard from

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Speaker 1: Selena Hubo there saying, you know, we need to make

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Speaker 1: sure our power lines are underground. A lot of territories

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Speaker 1: questioning how we're going to afford it. I mean, is

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Speaker 1: that something that the federal government may be able to

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Speaker 1: assist with somehow? I don't know.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, we're always up for conversations with the territory

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Speaker 2: government as we always have been. We have you know,

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Speaker 2: habit of talk about the NATHS and Northern Australia Infrastructure facility,

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Speaker 2: so there's potential for the names to help contribute in

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Speaker 2: that low interest loans for that for that use. And

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Speaker 2: I mean, I really understand how important underground power would

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Speaker 2: be in a community that faces that. You know, it's

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Speaker 2: iconic weather on a regular basis. So you know, we're

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Speaker 2: more than happy to keep talking with the territory government

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Speaker 2: with the Chief Minister and her team there, but the

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Speaker 2: NATS you know, that's one of the means. But we

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Speaker 2: can investigate that further.

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Speaker 1: Think I know your press for time, is there any

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Speaker 1: other streams of funding though, given how far behind our

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Speaker 1: infrastructure is to the rest of the country when it

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Speaker 1: comes to you know, those cyclones and the overhead power lines.

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Speaker 2: Well, the thing is we're putting a lot of money

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Speaker 2: into infrastructure in the North obviously the Middle arm development

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Speaker 2: and you know, just this week I announced the Nation

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Speaker 2: now going to have a ten year extension, which means

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Speaker 2: it's here to stay. And that's really important for the

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Speaker 2: North where grading three of the three big territory airports

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Speaker 2: one hundred and eighty million dollars into Darwin Airport, Our

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Speaker 2: Springs Airport and Yolara there at Ularu. But I know

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Speaker 2: you're asking about the underground power. It is those that

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Speaker 2: kind of infrastructure has to be driven from the government

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Speaker 2: of the day up in the territory. But there's no

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Speaker 2: doubt the federal government will always listen and see how

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Speaker 2: we can help. As I said, the funding I'm responsible

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Speaker 2: for us is the names, and the names would be

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Speaker 2: happy to have a chat. They always do. The Craig

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Speaker 2: boil up there. We've got staff up there, so I've

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Speaker 2: no doubt after this conversation, are you many listeners, someone

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Speaker 2: in the government will probably give us a call straight up.

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Speaker 1: And that's that great hoy Madeline tell us on the NAVE,

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Speaker 1: I mean like you touched on there another ten years.

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Speaker 1: Tell me what it means for Northern Australia.

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Speaker 2: Well, it means that the NAFE is here to stay.

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Speaker 2: It means ongoing funding from a federal government that will

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Speaker 2: inject those low interest loans into all manner of projects

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Speaker 2: right across the North, but especially into the nt SO.

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Speaker 2: And these are all sorts of projects I mentioned about

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Speaker 2: the airport upgrades, but there's also really important mining projects

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Speaker 2: like the Arafura rare earth projects in our springs, which

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Speaker 2: you know that was something we spoke about with President

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Speaker 2: Trump and the wild House to order that project, and

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Speaker 2: the government is really super happy to help support it.

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Speaker 2: But every project means you know, more jobs for territorians,

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Speaker 2: more work for locals, better infrastructure, better educational support. And

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Speaker 2: you know, one of the projects is one hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty million dollars into Darwin's Education and Community Precinct at

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Speaker 2: the Casuarina Campus. So you know, there's all manner of

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Speaker 2: things they do, sometimes a bit under the radar, but

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Speaker 2: it really is kicking goals to the terrace.

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Speaker 1: And I was going to say it sort of felt

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Speaker 1: like for quite a while there, you know, like it

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Speaker 1: wasn't maybe moving as quickly as what people wanted, or

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Speaker 1: we maybe didn't have as many projects on the go

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Speaker 1: as what people may have expected. But it feels like

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Speaker 1: things are really getting moving now. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and we've you know, you know, kind of turbocharged

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Speaker 2: the NACE getting that funding out and available to community groups,

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Speaker 2: infrastructure groups, you know, mining companies as well, all those

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Speaker 2: projects that need that little bit of help, that little

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Speaker 2: bit of government backing to get them off the ground

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Speaker 2: to create those jobs up in the North. And we're

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Speaker 2: really proud of the work they're doing. So it's you know,

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Speaker 2: a really good thing that we were now you know,

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Speaker 2: making sure it's there to stay with that ten year extension.

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Speaker 2: It got a two billion dollar extension. It's funding earlier

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Speaker 2: this year as we came back into government, so you know,

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Speaker 2: we back the North. We backed the North through this

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Speaker 2: disaster recovery funding what you're seeing right now, but also

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Speaker 2: over the long term into these infrastructure projects, but also

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Speaker 2: renewable projects, mining projects, education projects, social housing as well.

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Speaker 2: It's something we're helping with via the names. So it's

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Speaker 2: really it's rolling along and it's a really positive story

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Speaker 2: for the North and for the Northern Territory because Katie's

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Speaker 2: you know the strong North Australia.

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Speaker 1: Well, is there anywhere better to leave really the Northern Australia.

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Speaker 1: I think it's the best, Madeline King.

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Speaker 2: It's pretty remarkable. But you know, as I said at

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Speaker 2: the start, like the resilience for the people, all your

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Speaker 2: pioneers up there. You know, I've got a lot of

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Speaker 2: respects for you know, the blood, sweat and tears that

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Speaker 2: have been put into so many projects right around the North,

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory also know that North part of Queensland

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Speaker 2: and Western Australia, and I'm super proud of what people

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Speaker 2: achieved up from the North, and I'm only two places

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Speaker 2: to back them in wherever and wherever I can.

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Speaker 1: Well, Madeline King, I'll let you go. I know Parliament

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Speaker 1: sitting and you're worried you may get called into vote,

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Speaker 1: so I appreciate you stepping out to have a quick

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Speaker 1: chat

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Speaker 2: With us anytime, Katie keeping cut