The West Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has called for Federal Government departments to be shifted out of Canberra and moved to Alice Springs and Australia's north.

Ms Rinehart makes the plea for decentralisation in article titled 'Lethargy threatens our resources fortune' in next month's edition of the Australian Resources and Investment Magazine, published on 1 March.

In the article, Ms Rinehart says Government departments and advisers need to better understand businesses in the bush.

She has questioned why the Department of Aboriginal Affairs is not based in Alice Springs and why the Department of Defence is not based in Australia's north.

"We need our government departments and government advisers exposed to more of Australia: regions outside of Canberra and the New South Wales coast, where they usually holiday for their annual vacations," she said.

"They need to better understand small businesses, our bush and our north. Why, for instance, does our Department of Aboriginal Affairs even need to reside in Canberra? Why not in a more central location such as Alice Springs, for instance?"