The past year predicts the future

With the holidays over, maybe it’s time to take a look back the year 2011 and what it meant for Darwin. When many people outside of the Northern Territory think of Darwi, they conjure up visions of crocodiles, wetlands and cyclones and a transit centre for low-budget adventure tourists.

But in 2011 that image began to change: it was a year when Darwin’s position got the the recognition it deserves – as a truly thriving business centre.

Darwin's proximity to Asia, its relatively good infrastructure and the Northern Territory's enormous natural wealth were just part of it. The Northern Territory has also enjoyed Australia's lowest unemployment rate for two years.

Developments worth billions of dollars are on the agenda for Darwin and house prices, briefly the highest in the nation in 2009, are still holding their own, which is more than can be said about most other major Australian cities.

On the economic front,  the Japanese company Inpex and its French joint venture partner, Total, is expected to give the $29.41 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project the thumbs-up very soon.  Long-term deals to sell gas, potentially worth more than $50 billion, have already been signed from that project alone.

Darwin is growing in geo-political importance too. When US President Barack Obama visited Australia in November last year, Darwin was the only city outside of Canberra he visited – the very first time an American president had set foot in the city. While here, he announced plans for thousands of American troops to be based in Darwin by 2017. Some Territorians are all for this, others not so happy – but for sure it will be a boost for the local economy.

People already talk about Darwin as the capital of ‘Northern Australia’ and say statehood for the Northern Territory may not be far away. The NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson says that, despite strong growth, Darwin will remain a "vibrant, multicultural paradise"

You can still drive only half an hour out of Darwin and catch a metre-long barramundi or throw in a crab pot and take home half a dozen mud crabs for dinner. We hope that remains the case – not just in 2012, but for many more years to come.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/