By Rob O'Brien

The Northern Territory government is cutting red tape to assist infrastructure projects struggling in the face of the global financial crisis.

Chief Minister Paul Henderson has announced comprehensive changes to procurement so the Territory can take full advantage of the Federal Government’s $42 billion stimulus package.

“We’re cutting red tape to protect Territory jobs, we must act now to get these projects off the ground and keep people in work,” Henderson said.

 

Procurement thresholds will be lifted across the entire process, with new measures coming into effect on March 30.

 

“We’ve worked closely with business to get the balance right between fast-tracking projects and making sure we give everyone a fair go,” Henderson said.

 

“We have done a short review of procurement and consulted with industry and can now announce a new scheme to benefit the Territory economy, business and workers.”

 

As part of the Territory’s improvements to procurement processes, a developers desk will be established to provide a one-stop shop for developers; meetings by the Development Consent Authority will be held every fortnight instead of every month and a Co-Ordinator General will be appointed.

 

“We’ve worked closely with business to get the balance right between fast-tracking projects and making sure we give everyone a fair go.

 

"Everyone will be monitoring the changes to ensure they work,” Henderson said.

Dedicated Stimulus Action Squads have been set up in Government Departments to get projects up-and-running as fast as possible.