PARTY: Greens

LEADER: NA CANDIDATE: Billee McGinley

Population trends in the NT this century have been driven by major projects.

The way our population has at times grown, receded and changed has been largely an effect of lurching from one major project to the next. The boom-bust cycle has the unintended destructive effects of pricing locals out of town, widening the population gender and age biases, and encouraging misinvestment in features that temporarily benefit short-term workers over long-term families. Population is more than just a number.

Just as we are determined to play an active role in changing the shape of our economy, the NT Greens are planning for a different population composition. Growth and decline don’t tell the whole story: the NT experiences far more churn (population turnover) than other jurisdictions, such that the losses to our population from the boom-bust pattern are far greater than the mere difference in number of residents.

Planning for a population that chooses to live here long-term requires prioritisation of the needs of families, such as public transport, community gardens, and education — particularly tertiary.

We’d rather develop communities than build worker camps.

Our ability to encourage families to live, grow and stay in the NT depends upon our ability to confront the realities of a changing climate.

More than just a shade structure in the CBD, the NT needs determined investment to enhance liveability in the face of a warming climate.

New homes must be built with energy efficiency, passive cooling and climate resilience requirements mandated.

Although the Territory’s Indigenous population continues to grow, the number of remote residents has fallen in recent years, in part due to policies at the federal (intervention) and NT (super-shires) level.

The NT Greens have policies aimed at improving wellbeing, liveability and community control of Indigenous communities.