For the first time, the Australian and Northern Territory Government’s, and City of Darwin came together, in consultation with the Darwin community, to agree a 10-year plan for Darwin’s future – the Darwin City Deal.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, NTG Chief Minister Michael Gunner and City of Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis made the Darwin City Deal official during the Prime Minister’s visit to Darwin on Friday, 16 November 2018.

The $200 million Darwin City Deal is a joint initiative between the Australian Government , the Northern Territory Government (NTG) and City of Darwin. It delivers a 10-year plan for the Darwin City Centre that addresses Darwin’s unique challenges and puts our city on the path to economic prosperity and sustainable growth.

City Deals are a collaborative process between all three tiers of government to develop policies and investments which create future-ready cities.

The city has faced and continues to face a number of challenges, due to the wind-down in construction from Inpex and a slowing population growth. The Darwin City Deal will position Darwin as a vibrant and liveable tropical capital city, supported by a growing population and diversified economy.

It will support catalyst projects to revitalise Darwin’s city centre, as well as the planning and collaboration necessary to support Darwin’s growth. This will help to unlock investment in Darwin, grow its population, boost visitor economy and support greater business activity.

Delivering Darwin City Deal commitments

Since the Darwin City Deal was officially launched, the following commitments are currently in progress:

• A new education and civic precinct, including a new Charles Darwin University city campus. This will transform the city centre, attracting more international students to Darwin, boosting retail activity and bringing vibrancy to the city centre.
• Redevelopment of the State Square to help cool the city, making it more liveable and increasing space for outdoor events and festivals, ensuring Darwin is a vibrant tropical capital. This also includes the development of a new Art Gallery in State Square – a major new tourist drawcard for Darwin.
• Innovations to cool and green the city, helping to change the face of Darwin such as the Mitchell Street shade structure, development of a Climate Emergency Strategy, Movement Strategy, Greening Strategy and a Streetscape Beautification program. These initiatives will transform Darwin city centre into a best-practice example of tropical urban living.
• The establishment of the CSIRO-led ‘Urban Living Lab’, a collaborative effort between governments to test, monitor and evaluate improvements in Darwin’s liveability, sustainability and resilience.
• Support for the Larrakia people as the traditional owners of Darwin, including increasing the share of jobs held by Indigenous Australians through employment targets for City Deal projects, promoting Larrakia culture to locals and visitors, and planning for the future development of a Larrakia Cultural Centre at Stokes Hill.
• Unlocking the potential of dormant sites in Darwin, such as the Stokes Hill 'Tank Farm’, to better activate the harbour foreshore.
• Implementation of the Laneways and Small Streets Action Plan. The action plan provides certainty for existing traders and potential investors to guide collective efforts and investment. It sets out a vision for Darwin City’s laneways and small streets, the opportunities and actions the City Deal partners will undertake towards that vision in collaboration with stakeholders, the laneways and small streets of focus, and the delivery timeframe, governance process and how success will be measured.
• We have commenced introducing smart technology, LED lighting, digital way-finding and promoting Darwin’s unique heritage and strong ancient culture to improve experiences for visitors to our city.
• Our outdoor dining and entertainment areas have been expanded, creating business opportunities to increase patronage and making Darwin City a prime destination for festivals and events.
• Planting of 12,000 cyclone resilient trees that provide shade to our public places and creating a city of colour.