Article – The Kimberley's megalopolis site

27 June 2014
Vernon Graham
Queensland Country Life

PHOTO: Lake Argyle. (Tourism WA)

THE shores of Lake Argyle in Western Australia’s Kimberley region have been unveiled as the preferred site for a new mega city in northern Australia.
The location was announced at the Northern Development Summit in Townsville organised by the ADC Forum, an independent think-tank.
An ADC working group looking at future population and infrastructure needs, headed by retired Admiral Chris Barrie, surprisingly chose Lake Argyle as the best site for a mega city in the Top End.
The group has been grappling with the task of suggesting Australia’s best strategy to handle an additional 23 million people by as early as 2053.
The consensus of the working group was that the big cities in Australia’s south wouldn’t be able to handle the extra population and wouldn’t have the appetite to build the extra infrastructure needed.
And the mood among delegates at the summit, whose theme was “Creating the Future Australia”, was that the Top End’s time had come for major development of industries such as agriculture, tourism, tropical medicine and renewable energy production.
This development would be enhanced by new mega cities that would rival the likes of Singapore and while providing a ready market for farm produce would also have capacity to provide the north with a range for essential services and skills such as finance, health and education.
Mr Barrie said an opportunity now existed to build a mega city on 6700 hectares at Lake Argyle which could feature infrastructure such as an international airport capable of flying people direct to London and other parts of the world.
He said the working group’s choice didn’t mean either Townsville or Darwin, now vying for the title as northern Australia’s biggest city, would be out of the running for future northern development.
Anton Roux, CEO of the ADC, said the time for talk about developing the Top End was over and action was now critical for Australia’s future economic and population wellbeing.
Courtesy of Queensland Country Life