Australia’s North Sits on Trillions of Dollars – Why Is It Empty? - video Dailymotion

Bright Side

You’d think the north coast of Australia—so close to Asia and global trade routes—would be full of cities, right? But nope. In this video, we’ll dive into why this vast region remains almost untouched. From extreme weather and poor soil to ancient history and tricky infrastructure, the reasons are more fascinating than you’d guess. You’ll learn why cities in Australia boomed in the south and why the north never caught up. If you’re into geography, urban planning, or just love unexpected facts, this one’s for you. Let’s head to the Top End and uncover the mystery!  Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00northern australia is basically the perfect spot it's right next to some of the world's

00:05busiest trade routes that move trillions of dollars worth of goods every year with all that

00:11action going on you'd naturally think this massive coastline would be packed with skyscrapers

00:16shopping malls and sprawling suburbs but instead the whole region is practically empty so why is

00:24that okay okay before you rush to the comments and type that's not true let's clear one thing up

00:31yes there are some important cities up north places like darwin with around 150 000 people

00:38or townsville which has about 200 000 but let's be real it's a bit of a stretch to call them major

00:45cities large metropolitan areas are generally considered places with a population of one and

00:51a half million people or more like sydney melbourne or perth now take a look at them can you see what

00:58all those cities have in common yep they're located in the southern part of the country the thing is

01:04australia is massive stretching across a little under three million square miles making up about five

01:12percent of the world's total land area to put that into perspective you could fit almost 60 england's

01:19inside australia's borders but it's also one of the most sparsely populated countries on earth see

01:26these red zones here that's where the majority of people live this means that the center of australia

01:33is well practically empty that's basically because this area has an intense climate covered with semi-arid

01:41and desert regions it's really dry most of the time and hardly gets any rain so they end up facing big

01:48challenges when it comes to having enough water during summer days average temperatures are typically

01:55between 98 and 102 degrees fahrenheit and suddenly living by the beach starts to sound a whole lot more

02:03appealing looking for more bearable temperatures is one of the reasons why most australians are concentrated

02:10along the coastlines great but think about it australia is totally surrounded by ocean waters

02:17yet for some reason people choose the southern coastlines not the north and that doesn't make

02:24much sense take a closer look at darwin and you'll see that it's actually closer to indonesia than it is

02:32to australia's own capital we're talking about the world's fourth most populous nation with one of the

02:38fastest growing economies indonesia has a ton of positive ingredients behind that growth it's rich

02:45in mineral reserves has a large working age population and is becoming strong in sectors like

02:51manufacturing trade and digital services put all that in a blender and indonesia's economy is expected to

02:59grow at an average annual rate of 4.8 percent over the next two years in fact experts believe that indonesia

03:08and southeast asia in general will be some of the most important countries for australia over the next

03:14hundred years financially speaking so that brings us back to the question why hasn't the northern part

03:20of the country turned into a booming metropolis soaking up the benefits of its prime spot near asia

03:27well there are a couple reasons for that first up the weather the top of australia has a tropical

03:35climate and that means two things it's hot and humid during the wet season it rains a lot and i mean

03:43a lot the region suddenly gets hit by big intense storms and yeah thunderstorms can put on a heck of

03:51a visual show but the situation can also get pretty tense because when it rains that much it also floods

03:59sometimes badly and that can lead to roads being closed and towns getting completely cut off as a

04:05result producers have a hard time distributing their goods and stores sometimes end up with empty shelves

04:12it's like a domino effect the afternoons feel super sticky with the air so humid it feels like you're

04:19walking around wrapped in a warm wet blanket during the wet season the humidity often stays above 70

04:28but sweat isn't the only problem the real issue is that all the heat and dampness cause

04:34infrastructure to wear out a lot faster the wet season also means it's a tropical cyclone season

04:41cyclones can stick around for days or even weeks and often follow messy unpredictable paths they're

04:48dangerous and bring all kinds of hazards like extreme winds heavy rainfall and storm surges

04:56then a few months later comes the dry season humidity takes a break and there's very little rain but

05:03that means the same wetlands dry up and vanish under the scorching sun leaving cracked earth behind

05:10that leads to dust fire risks and water shortages this kind of wild weather might work out fine for small

05:18towns or a few businesses but it's a real problem if you want to develop a big city major cities need

05:25reliable infrastructure and steady access to water and energy and the north doesn't provide any of that

05:32that easily maintaining a modern city up there would cost a fortune without a big local population to help

05:39pay for it mining companies do operate in the north extracting minerals gas and other resources but

05:46they don't build cities they build temporary towns workers fly in for a few weeks then fly back home

05:54there is money in the north but it doesn't translate into busy centers

05:59all right so here's the second reason why there aren't any big cities up north

06:04the place is super remote sure it is closer to asia but that's a whole other continent

06:11when it comes to australia's own big cities like sydney or melbourne it's really far away

06:17the problem is that the north has always been lacking good roads and railways and that's related

06:22to how things played out in australia's history some would say it's kind of a too little too late situation

06:30because you see back when britain first settled australia in 1788

06:34they made practical choices over the years settlers picked spots with safe harbors manageable

06:41weather and fertile soil all things the northern coast just didn't have early attempts to build

06:48towns up north like port essington and fort wellington failed spectacularly because of disease isolation

06:55and harsh conditions only darwin managed to survive but like i mentioned earlier it never grew into a major

07:03city but none of this means the region was empty before europeans arrived and that brings us to

07:09reason number three protected areas the north has long been home to diverse aboriginal and tourist

07:16strait islander peoples groups who were living there thousands of years before britain showed up

07:22over the years many areas have stayed under traditional ownership or have remained really significant

07:28and important to indigenous communities even today big parts of northern australia are indigenous lands

07:35national parks or conservation zones these lands are protected by law so developing these areas means

07:43navigating complex legal agreements and risking damage to places of enormous cultural and spiritual

07:49significance in other words it's not exactly easy to just come in and say hey let's build a big

07:56metropolis right here but it's not like the idea hasn't crossed people's minds experts have come

08:03up with plans every now and then to open up the north many of those plans have ended up failing

08:08mostly because of all the reasons i've already talked about in this video even in 2025 the north's

08:15remoteness is still a problem but that doesn't mean it can't be developed and right now there's fresh

08:21buzz around that old dream with the northern australia action plan working to crack the code authorities

08:29are pouring billions into roads ports and infrastructure hoping to spark industries like clean energy

08:35minerals and agriculture all while working closely with indigenous communities who call the north home

08:42it's a bold vision sure but it just might finally turn this vast wild region into a thriving frontier

08:50for now though we just have to accept that the north remains mostly wild full of intense storms

08:56breathtaking landscapes and unique animals you can't find anywhere else that's it for today so hey if you

09:04pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more

09:09just click on these videos and stay on the bright side

Australia’s North Sits on Trillions of Dollars – Why Is It Empty?

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