As the Northern Territory government delivers its fourth budget, it has fired the first official shots in the campaign for the August election.
Outgoing Treasurer David Tollner handed down his final budget on Tuesday, saying it was part of a "battle between style and substance".
He said that according to Labor's forward estimates, this year the NT would have had a deficit of $5.5 billion.
Instead, the deficit is a still-sizeable $794 million, four times last year's estimated deficit of $174 million.
The $6.46 billion budget stimulates the economy, which is in a lull following the slow-down of the $39 billion Inpex LNG project, and is waiting for other major projects to commence, Mr Tollner says.
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The NT will lose about a billion dollars over the forward estimates in reduced GST revenue, stamp duty and mining royalties, and a return to surplus has been pushed back from next year to 2019/20.
Economic growth dropped from 10.5 per cent in 2014/15 at the peak of the Inpex project, to 1.5 per cent next financial year.
"The growth of the Territory will return to normal trends for a short period of time and then start to grow again, which is why we're focused ... on trying to pick up that gap in the next 12-18 months to maintain our workforce here in the NT," Mr Tollner said.
"The last thing we want to see is tradesmen and other professionals going to other parts of the country while we have a little lull in economic growth."
The budget included $20 million for a "centrepiece" policy of home repairs vouchers for up to $2000, designed to help sustain local tradespeople and businesses, funded in part by the 99-year leasing of the Darwin Port.
But the Labor opposition said the government had failed to prepare the economy for the Inpex wind-down and that the repairs policy was unfair.
"What we're concerned about is the lack of fairness, how it's being targeted and the fact it's not actually flowing through to locals," said Opposition Leader Michael Gunner.
"We're entering bleak times, we need more from the CLP than what they gave us in this budget."
The Property Council of Australia was pleased with the overall spend of $1.7 billion on infrastructure, with NT director Ruth Palmer welcoming the home repairs vouchers and the cut to stamp duty for first home buyers.
The government has announced $768 million for law and order, but the NT Council for Social Services said there was a lack of investment in diversion and preventive programs such as after-hours youth services.
THE NT BUDGET BY THE NUMBERS:
* Worth $6.46 billion.
* Net debt estimate of $1.97 billion has shot up to $2.7 billion, expected to climb to $3.1 billion in 2019/20.
* Fiscal balance to plunge to -$794 million in 2016/7, worse than the -$174 million forecast last year.
* Government delays return to surplus from 2017/18 to 2019/20, when it's expected to be $12 million in the black.
