Re moving agriculture North-There may be some scope for this on a limited scale.The history of agriculture in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley is not filled with great success stories.That doesn't mean that it is not worth more effort.
It would be disastrous if the Booster's Club got onto it with irrigation megaschemes.Australia North of Capricorn is still in a relatively pristine state.I would be loath to see vast areas go the same way as the Murray Darling basin and the wheat belt of WA.
Re geothermal power - Geodynamics has a pilot scheme in the proving phase near Innamincka in the far NE of SA.They are planning to supply the little outpost on the Cooper with electricity by the end of 2008.They sure are looking forward to geting off the diesel generators. Geothermal is very expensive in the initial phase due to the cost of drilling to extreme depths and temperatures.But it has the potential to provide cheap, sustainable electricity for a very long time.With HVDC transmission it should be able to provide base load energy to major population centres.