Northern cattle roads to get $100m upgrade

Key cattle transport routes in northern Australia will get $100 million of flood-proof road upgrades out of next week's federal budget.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the funding during a visit to Beef Australia 2015 Expo in Rockhampton on Friday.

It's the first announcement stemming from a white paper on northern Australia and more rural goodies are expected to be unveiled in coming days.

Mr Abbott could not say how many kilometres of road will be improved because it depended on whether bitumen or dirt roads were upgraded.

"What I want is to see this money go as far as it can," he told reporters.

The CSIRO will use modelling to decide which roads in the cattle supply chain need improvements.

The cash will be spent in conjunction with the private sector and state and local governments.

Mr Abbott, wearing an RM Williams shirt as cows bellowed in the background, attributed an increase in beef exports to recent free-trade deals.

He also hailed the recovery of live cattle trade to Indonesia after Labor's temporary suspension in 2011 following concerns over animal welfare practices.

"The cattle industry is well and truly reviving," he said, adding 35 per cent of the cost of getting beef to market was transport.

Ninety per cent of Australian cattle exports come from northern Australia.

Mr Abbott also flagged he'd have more to say on drought assistance for farmers.