Feature: Abbott gov't expects Asian expanding economies to help develop N. Australia

The future of northern Australia "will come from its people, its ingenuity, its diversity, and its proximity to Asia," the Abbott government said on Thursday in its first white paper on developing the country's north.

"Our north has the resources, the connections across the Tropics ... (The Indo-Pacific) has the savings and the markets to drive northern prosperity," the Abbott government said in the white paper.

The white paper provides a vision for developing northern Australia, which accounts for 40 percent of the country's landmass, but is sparsely-populated, over the next 20 years.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Thursday that the government has, for too long, tied up investment in "unnecessary red tape."

The Northern Territory's capital, Darwin, will become the single point entry for major investors by streamlining regulatory processes. Cultural heritage, fisheries, and wildlife trade regulations will all be simplified to entice foreign companies to Australia and further diversify the economy.

The government sees an opportunity for international businesses further down the supply chain of Australian products getting involved earlier.

"For example, Indonesian investment in northern cattle exporting facilities could smooth access to the Indonesian markets for all Australian cattle producers," the paper said.

The government will host a major forum in November in Darwin while it sets up its 58-million-U.S. dollar research center there to further facilitate the development of its plans.

Acknowledging infrastructure as critical to fast-tracking the region's growth, the government will drop billions of U.S. dollars into upgrading old and establishing new routes throughout the north.

The cattle supply chain, the backbone of Australia's live export industry, will be boosted by an initial government injection of 77 million U.S. dollars for roads, in addition to the 460 million U.S. dollars dedicated to other roads upgrades.

Transport investment in airstrips, flight subsidies and rail freight lines will help support the population and business boom the Abbott government is bracing for.

Australia will fast-tracked visa applications for Chinese and Indian citizens to facilitate a growth in tourism, while more working holiday visas will be made available.

Those wishing to stay longer in Australia will benefit from the expansion of Designated Area Migration Agreements. The pilot program currently operating in Darwin sees skilled foreign workers sponsored by the government contracted to work in regions where skill shortages are apparent.

There is no doubting the plans are ambitious. Even if support for them can be maintained by future governments, many plans will take years, even decades, to achieve.

But without them, Australia will inevitably leave parts of the booming Asian market untapped - a proposition the Australia of 2035 may rue. Endi