NT treasurer Bill Yan spends week before first budget at Barramundi Classic fishing competition

Australia Broadcast Center

09-05-2025

The Northern Territory treasurer has confirmed he is attending a five-day fishing competition while on the clock, days out from delivering his first budget.
Bill Yan has been volunteering as chief marshal at the Barramundi Classic on the remote Daly River this week, ahead of the release of the NT budget on Tuesday.
The budget will be the Country Liberal Party's (CLP) first since winning government in August, when it inherited more than $11 billion in net debt.
Since taking power, the CLP has passed legislation removing the territory's $15 billion assessable debt ceiling, noting it would be hit within four years.
Speaking to ABC Radio Darwin on Friday, Mr Yan confirmed he had not taken leave to attend the Barramundi Classic.
"No, I haven't taken leave, I'm still working while I'm down here doing [marshalling duties] and working at night," he said.
"Most of the work on the budget has been done.
"I'm able to cover off on both, I've got good staff behind me.
Mr Yan said he was a patron and sponsor of the Barramundi Classic, with the 2025 event marking his 13th year volunteering there.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo criticised Mr Yan's attendance at the competition, saying the treasurer should "get out of the boat and back on the job".
"We'd all love to be out fishing, but it's unbelievable that the treasurer is out on the water less than a week before delivering his first budget for Territorians," she said.
"The CLP made big promises ... but it appears they were all talk, with Minister Yan out reeling in barra instead of reeling in costs for territory households."
Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby defended Mr Yan on commercial radio station Mix 104.9, noting one of the CLP's "key things" was "restoring the territory lifestyle".
"It's very important for [Mr Yan] to stay connected with Territorians. It is a very short time that he is down [at the Daly River], he will be back and deliver an exceptional budget speech."
The CLP has already made several budget announcements ahead of Tuesday.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said $1.34 billion would be spent on police, corrections and the Department of the Attorney-General and Justice — $112 million more than in Labor's final budget in 2024.
Included in that is $6.6 million to upgrade infrastructure and CCTV at the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre in Darwin.
A multi-year funding agreement for Legal Aid NT, worth $5.5 million per year, has also been announced.
Asked what else could be expected in the budget, Mr Yan said money would be "re-prioritised" from some infrastructure projects the previous Labor government had committed to.
"From that re-prioritisation, we'll start to look into the future about what the infrastructure program looks like," he told ABC Radio Darwin.
'We've had to re-prioritise and rationalise the building program to make sure we've got the cash there.
"Labor only put a very, very small amount in the budget for this upcoming year. It was about $500 or $600 million short of being able to deliver on that infrastructure program.
"We've had a look at every budget across all the agencies to make sure we're delivering for Territorians, making sure we're hitting those safety issues, those lifestyle issues and restoring our economy."