The news came in the form of a pre-budget submission highlighting the critical development needs of the Northern Territory and northern Australia.

The submission was presented to Agriculture Minister Tony Burke by Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association executive director Luke Bowen, who travelled to Canberra to deliver the funding plea.

"Telecommunications, health and education are just part of the picture," Mr Bowen said.

"It is hard to comprehend that the NT road network is less than 24pc sealed, and that last month when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited, more than 50pc of the network was closed or under serious restrictions.

"The ability of Territorians to go about their business and bring up families in a safe manner is seriously hindered. The Federal Government needs to make a long-term commitment to invest in a region that has huge potential, located on the doorstep of Asia," he said.

The NTCA pre-budget submission is in line with calls made to the NT Government for a greater investment in the road network.

"This has been made even more critical as we see a plan to move responsibility for the NT road network to newly formed local shires that have no capacity to maintain or upgrade the road network as it is," Mr Bowen said.

The Cattlemen's Association made the call on behalf of the beef industry, which manages around 45pc of the Northern Territory land mass.

Mr Bowen also said that it is important to understand that roads and infrastructure in the Northern Territory are used by everyone including remote communities, mining operations, tourism and defence.