Darwin keeps fires burning in Asia

Business Asia, July 5, 1999 by Cameron Cooper

A new Chief Minister, sweeping departmental changes and the small matter of Asia's regional economic crisis have changed the face of the Northern Territory's engagement with the region.

Former leader Mr Shane Stone is now out of the picture, but he will be remembered -- among other issues -- for his pro-Asia stance on business.

His successor, Mr Denis Burke, has been in the Chief Minister's seat for about 100 days. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn, but Mr Burke is quick to say that Asia remains an integral facet of the Top End's business blueprint (see story, page 9).

So how is the NT-Asia relationship faring? According to Mr Michael Kilgariff, manager international of trade and commerce at the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NTCCI), the NT's days of being "all things to all people" are at least temporarily over.

In other words, Darwin is taking a more industry-specific approach to exports into Asia in the aftermath of the region's financial crisis.

Mr Kilgariff says the former strategy under Chief Minister Stone had been to take a gung-ho approach to targeting most Asian countries, which he suggests had perhaps been "too general".

"But I don't want to be too critical of that approach because it paved the way for where we are now ... Because we did that we can now actually sit back and say, `Let's start targeting'," he said.

The two-year downturn in many Asian nations necessitated a change of policy, according to Mr Kilgariff.

"The (NT's) aggressive push into South East Asia has probably dropped off a little, but it's become more focussed," he said, adding that a sector-by-sector rather than country-by-country approach was being taken to trade.

"It's a bit of both," Mr Kilgariff said. "DART (the Department of Asian Relations and Trade) is now focussing on countries, but our new Office of Resource and Development is focussing on industries.

"We (at the NTCCI) want it to become a little more focused on specific industries, and obviously those will be agribusiness, oil and gas supply and service, and areas such as acquaculture.

"(These are) the sort of industries where the Territory can have a competitive advantage rather than trying to be all things to all people."

Mr Kilgariff is adamant that the Territory's long-term future is still linked to Asia, particularly as the region is showing strong signs of recovery.

"We are laying the foundations now for the Territory's future," he said.

"The optimism is starting to creep back into the business sector and you can never have an economic revival without a revival in optimism."

Those positive vibes are merging in Australia and Asia.

Mr Kilgariff believes Australia's initial feeling of "doom and gloom" as Asia's crisis unfolded was "a reaction to exposure". In short, there was a fear that we had put too many eggs in one basket.

The recovery, he says, "shows the resilience of a lot of countries in the region" -- with the possible exception of Indonesia.

The Northern Territory has enjoyed strong ties in the past with Jakarta and former President Suharto. Courtesy of Darwin's proximity to Indonesia and strong trade in live cattle and oil and gas, Mr Kilgariff expects that friendship to be maintained.

Current elections, in which Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri is dominating the vote, should not change the equation.

"The elections don't seem to be hindering or helping the NT," Mr Kilgariff said. "(Our relationship) tends to be above politics."

Promisingly, Indonesian delegations will form a large part of Asia's presence at this month's NT Expo.

"The fact that even in such hard economic times these delegations are coming over for NT Expo shows that they have a deep commitment to their relationship with the Northern Territory," Mr Kilgariff said.

It's this sort of commitment from Indonesia -- and other Asian neighbours -- that Mr Burke will be counting on as he develops Darwin's new Asia agenda.