Coalition will propose different tax rates for those who head north, a move strongly supported by magnate Gina Rinehart
Tony Abbott is proceeding cautiously with the grand northern development policies strongly advocated by billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart and her lobby group Australians for Northern Development and Economic Vision.
Abbott will release on Friday his "northern development 2030 vision", not in itself a policy, but rather a promise to produce a white paper and then develop a policy when in government.
The "vision" is a watered down version of a draft paper that was leaked in February.
The draft proposed different tax rates to encourage people to move north. Abbott insisted at the time this was not Coalition policy.
"There is absolutely no way that people in different parts of Australia will be paying different tax depending upon where they live," he said then.
The "vision" he will release in Townsville promises the white paper would consider "the efficacy and targeting of current relocation incentives and personal and business tax incentives" in a bid to attract more people to northern cities like Darwin, Cairns, Townsville and Karratha.
The draft discussion paper also talked of up to 100 dams that could be built across the north.
But the "vision" document is more modest and vague in ambition, saying the white paper will "consider" asking Infrastructure Australia to "conduct a comprehensive audit of Northern Australia's infrastructure and to devise a 15 year rolling priority list of projects of various scales, guided by cost-benefit studies."
And it will "investigate the establishment of a Water Project Development Fund to support the advancement of meritorious proposals for water infrastructure across Northern Australia, including dams and groundwater projects."
But the white paper will consider "relocating relevant components of federal departments and commonwealth agencies, such as CSIRO and Australian Quarantine Inspection Service, to key urban zones in Northern Australia" - a plan that was attacked at the time of the leak.
All of the ideas are strongly advocated by Rinehart in her book Northern Australia and then some and by her lobby group.
The leaked discussion paper was warmly welcomed by ANDEV which advocates a northern special economic zone with lower taxes and less regulation.
"It is time for bold new ideas for Australia – ideas like developing the largely untapped resources of northern Australia through the establishment of Special Economic Zones throughout this region," Rinehart wrote in a recent blog post.
"... we've been saddled with bad government policies that make us uncompetitive, when we could instead make the north a productive food bowl and source of minerals, as well as a centre for medical care, tourism and services for not just Australia but our Asian neighbours."
The Coalition's policy promises "to capitalise on Northern Australia's existing strengths and natural advantages in agriculture, cattle, and energy as well as to seize opportunities in tourism, education and health services."