With a federal election on the near horizon, politicians from both major parties have flown into the Northern Territory to announce multi-million-dollar funding pledges for remote NT roads.
On Sunday in Darwin Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese announced a Labor government would spend $200 million on regional and remote roads in the Territory.
"We've looked already at a range of projects at Santa Teresa Road, the Mereenie Loop Road, all-weather access to Maningrida," he said.
On Monday in Alice Springs Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Barnaby Joyce announced a $678m investment dedicated to sealing the Outback Way.
The Outback Way – a series of roads connecting Laverton in southern Western Australia to Winton in Queensland – is notoriously harsh on vehicles due to corrugations and bulldust holes.
Mr Joyce said the NT would receive $124m to put towards the Plenty and Tjukruru Highways in the upcoming budget, while WA and Queensland would receive $400m and $154m, respectively.
"Those gold trucks and the critical mineral trucks and the cattle trucks and the B-doubles and triples and the road trains … I want to see them moving" Mr Joyce said.
The Deputy PM did not offer a timeline of when the road upgrades would be completed, just that he wanted them done "as soon as possible".
When asked how much the state and territory governments would be expected to contribute, Mr Joyce said the federal government's funding commitment represents 80 per cent of the total package.
"The general deal's 80-20 … that's how we work," he said.
Long way around
The Plenty Highway has been an important route for Central Australian cattle producers needing to access markets in Queensland.
But pastoralists like Rebecca Cadzow at Mount Riddock, 200 kilometres north east of Alice Springs, have avoided using the road for the last few years because of its poor condition.
She said she had been sending cattle on a huge detour via Tennant Creek and Mount Isa.
"It takes us up to four days," Ms Cadzow said.
Long time coming
Councils in Queensland and WA have been campaigning for decades to get the Outback Way sealed.
"The Outback Highway Council was formed back in 1997, [and since then] we've been lobbying successive governments for funding to seal this road," said Laverton Shire president Pat Hill.
Mayor of Boulia Shire Council, Rick Britton, said he felt his long-standing goal of sealing the Outback Way was no longer a "pipedream".
"You're opening up Australia's backyard," he said.
"There needs to be a nation-building project.
