NT Government's National Park Privatization Plan Sparks Concerns

A tourism expert has raised concerns the Northern Territory's national parks could become less accessible to locals and budget-conscious visitors following the Territory government's decision to open the door to private investors in some parks.

The NT government has put out a call for developers interested in building semi-permanent camping facilities at Litchfield National Park, as well as luxury accommodation at the Alice Springs Desert Park and the Tennant Creek Telegraph Station.

The government has also said it is searching for investors to redevelop a campground in Elsey National Park near Bitter Springs and the Mataranka Hot Springs.

Litchfield Tourist Park owner and operator Shelly Haitana said if done the right way, accommodation within the park's boundaries could add to the Top End's tourism offerings.

"There is quite a lot of potential to increase Litchfield's visibility to the world and also to increase visitation and improve our shoulder seasons," she said.

Despite the government calling for semi-permanent camping in the park, Ms Haitana said luxury accommodation would also be beneficial.

"We are a caravan park, so something high-end wouldn't have any impact on us," she said.

Concerns development could become a 'land grab'

NT Parks and Wildlife Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the planned developments were a way to unlock "tourism potential" and "create new regional jobs".

"While NT parks already attract over three million visits a year, we know there's more potential," she said.

"We want to turn those day trips into overnight trips, and create one-of-a-kind experiences for visitors to see more, stay longer and spend more in our regions."

However, Gold Coast-based ecotourism professor Sonya Underdahl said there was "a lack of economic evidence" to back up the government's job creation claims.

"For [development around] the Scenic Rim Trail in Queensland, they were purporting there was going to be 60 new jobs in a regional environment which really needs employment," she said.

"However, they found that there were only three jobs provided."

In her previous work as a ranger and bushwalking guide across Australia and New Zealand, Ms Underdahl said she saw the impact of private developments in national parks firsthand.

"Out of the five [bushwalking guide] companies that I worked for, only two remain," she said.

"The other three have been pushed out of business as a result of developments within parks and they're unable to now sustain employment."

She also said in recent years, growing private investment in Australian national parks had led to "a large concern within the academic journals of a land grab".

"Instead of upgrading the communities and the facilities which are nearby, what they're doing is they're putting it in a park, and unfortunately they're creating a monopoly by one private operator."

Ms Haitana said she believed there were enough attractions in the NT's national parks to allow for private development.

"It would be a strange government that would put Wangi Falls up for lease," she said.

"I'm sure there'd be some lesser sites out there ... that wouldn't have an impact on where our general tourists go anyway."