NT government unveils 'Buy Local' plan

The Northern Territory government has announced new reforms to help local businesses increase their share of government contracts.

Minister for Business, Peter Styles, said the government is increasing the minimum weighting of local content and benefits from 20% to 25% for all tenders.

“The Territory government has consulted widely over many months with local businesses, industry, associations and other stakeholders on the effectiveness of the existing Local Development and Value Adding (LDVA) framework and potential alternatives,” Styles said.

“We have listened to the concerns of our business community and our Buy Local Plan will drive greater emphasis on achieving local content and benefits from NT government procurement.”

Each year $3 billion is spent on goods and services by the Territory government towards development and services.

The plan will establish an independent panel of Territorians to review and advise on tender responses and contracts.

“There are 14,280 registered small to medium enterprises in the Territory and this Policy reflects the Country Liberals government’s commitment to supporting local business,” he said.

“The Territory’s legal constraints prevent government from adopting an outright preference for local businesses and as such local businesses still need to be internationally competitive in the tender process and demonstrate clearly how they will deliver on the job and provide local benefits.”

The Chamber of Commerce Northern Territory and the Industry Capability Network NT have welcomed the policy.

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