Issue 48

TRUST IN CHINA’S TARIFF RESPONSE

It has become an even more important issue as President Trump’s tariff attacks on China have ramped up. NT businesses working with China cannot afford to ignore understanding this issue. Tariffs have meant that trust has also become entwined with a determination never to again be subject to foreign interference. To understand the context of...

Issue 48

BEEF REPORT

Key points: China’s domestic cattle prices are improving, but Australian live exports remain well below previous levels. Indonesia’s live cattle imports hesitate momentarily amid import permit uncertainty; positive government signals yet to translate into renewed buying. Vietnam’s weakening currency adds cost pressure on cattle...

Issue 48

MINDSET SHIFT NEEDED

Yet outside of the pastoral industry — and a handful of exceptions in mining — this vision has largelyfailed to materialise. Despite substantial public spending in the north, most of it now goes to social service delivery, not economic enablers. Growth on the eastern seaboard, shifts in how governments prioritise infrastructure, and the...

Issue 48

ROGER STEELE: DROVER TO PARLIAMENT HOUSE

He went on to run cattle camps and manage cattle stations, and run an insurance company. And was then elected to parliament for 12 years. He received a bush apprenticeship that would alter his destiny and ignite a passion and love for the Outback under the guidance of his heroes – pioneers, stockmen and giants of the bush: the Duracks,...

Issue 48

TIME FOR ACTION

But potential means little without purposeful action. That’s why the Property Council has launched Growing Northern Australia: Solutions for Regional Development and Sustainability, a forward-looking policy blueprint to strengthen our north through strategic investment, First Nations empowerment and resilient infrastructure. This report is...

Issue 48

CHALLENGES OF COTTON

Maurice William Holtze, a German- born botanist, played a pivotal role in the agricultural development of the Northern Territory in the late 19th century. Appointed as the Government gardener in 1878, he established the Botanical Gardens in Darwin. It was here that he conducted extensive experiments to assess the viability of various crops,...

Issue 48

TURTLE TAKES OFF

Turtle Strength was founded by Territory dad Adam Boucher. The e-business sells fitness gear designed to support those who train after work, in home gyms or late at night when no one is watching. Inspired by the idea that strength is built slowly, day-by-day, the brand’s slogan is Hard Work. Unseen. “We hit 30 orders in the first 30...

Issue 48

ADAM YATES

Millions of years ago, a series of interconnected waterholes provided refuge for the Territory’s now extinct megafauna surrounding what is now Alice Springs. All that remains of this site is the Alcoota fossil beds, housing countless remnants of Australia’s wild history. The fossils are unearthed and studied by palaeontologists and kept...

Issue 48

Territory Pioneer LILL SMITH 

Lilly Smith used to say to anybody who would listen: “Nobody lives in Darwin – they just pass through on the way to somewhere else.” That was 46 years ago. She has long been a well-known and respected Darwin textile artist and style icon who uses Tactile Arts, the studio on a hill next to the Museum and Art Gallery, to print her...

Blak Business

UNEARTHED – BARUNGA NEXT TOP MODELS

The Barunga Festival came alive in dazzling style this year with the success of Next Top Model Unearthed, an initiative that showcased the extraordinary talent of 10 emerging Indigenous models. Taking to the runway beneath the stars, they captivated a packed crowd with confidence, pride and style. The models, ranging in age from 14 to 66,...

Issue 48

GOING WITH THE FLOW

Businessman Jay Stuart needed traffic management for a project he was carrying out with his company NT Pipe Relining. Rather than outsource the job, he decided to keep it in-house – and it was so successful that Northern Territory Traffic Control was born. The business only started in July 2024 but now has 14 staff – six of them...

Issue 48

OUR CHANCE TO HELP SICK KIDS

The charity has been supporting Territorians for 25 years and is now exploring opportunities to increase support, possibly by opening a house in Alice Springs. The goal is to build a fit-for-purpose house for the unique needs near the town’s busy 200-bed hospital so that families can stay near their sick children. Each year about 30...