Northern Australia should have a say in its own future

Abstract

[Extract] Recently, Australia's north has featured front-and-centre in national debates about the country's future; the election campaign will likely see more claims about what the north can do for the country. Some cast it as the frontier saviour, a source of bold new resource and agricultural developments both real and imagined. Others dream of securing the north's expansive landscapes as iconic wilderness. Northern policy has long been a source of conflict. Debates have raged about the success or otherwise of government interventions in indigenous communities. Quick-draw policy responses on complex issues like the live cattle trade have devastated many communities. Additionally, media images of coast-bound refugees keep the north's strategic importance centre-stage, raising unresolved tensions about our Asian-Pacific relationships.