The chief minister of the Northern Territory has put out the call for private investment in a range of sectors, saying there is untold economic potential for those adventurous enough to try.

Chief Minister Adam Giles said the territory has budding resources, tourism, agriculture, food production and defence markets, but it lacks the infrastructure to let them grow.

He said the situation has left NT “about 150 years” behind the rest of Australia.

Mr Giles made the comments in an address to a national economic conference in Darwin this week.

He says the new age should start at the Darwin Port; gateway to the Northern Territory.

“Darwin's biggest challenge is to create economies of scale, to reduce the cost of container freight over our port,” he said.

“What happens if we develop the Northern Territory and northern Australia, is the country gets an efficient and vital link to Asia that has not been there before.

“We unlock these vital resources and we fix the south-eastern gas crisis.

“The north becomes populated and prosperous, and an important component in the growth of the Australian economy.”

Mr Giles says he wants investment, not more intervention and handouts.

“Income support, or ‘sit-down money’ as it is sometimes called, is not going to inspire anyone to become an active part of society,” he said.

“The problems faced by Aboriginal Australia have never been fixed by welfare... in fact, welfare is the main part of the problem.”

“The development of the north needs to include all of our citizens.”

The Chief Minister’s comments appear to be backed up by a recent CSIRO report.

CSIRO’s Mosaic Irrigation for the Northern Australian Beef Industry report says there is enough water in northern Australia’s cattle country to irrigate up to 120,000 hectares of fodder crops and add an extra $200 million a year to the beef sector

Renewable ground water resources have been identified in the Territory’s Daly, Wiso and Georgina Basins.