But Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss says the best way to change that is by building infrastructure.

Build it and they will come, says Mr Truss.

But the infrastructure will come at the expense of a Zone Tax Allowance.

Will infrastructure attract and maintain more people to the North West or a city like Mount Isa?

In the short term, projects such as a railway or a gas pipeline might lure a few Southerners for work, but are they likely to stay?

The reality is they most likely won’t, but if tax breaks are on offer then they are more inclined to call the North home for a longer period of time.

The Northern White Paper touched on the difficulties of attracting workers for the north, but failed to outline a robust plan to change the problem.

“Many businesses and their workers are more vulnerable to volatile – boom and bust – economic conditions,” the paper said. 

“Typically, these businesses relocate their workplaces to new projects at the end of each construction project.”

When work runs out, people rush back to the South where living expenses are not as burdening as the North.

The paper could have solved one of the biggest issues hampering the North by implementing a Zone Tax Allowance.

And it could be the difference between the success of the Northern White Paper and whether it actually opens up the region for prosperity and development.