Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I give thanks to the member for Braddon for her fantastic comments about what it's like to live in the regional part of Australia in Tasmania. I too am pleased to stand, as a regional member in North Queensland, to speak against the Regional Investment Corporation Bill 2017. I have Magnetic Island and also the remote location of Palm Island in my electorate, so issues that are raised in this bill are particularly pertinent to my community.

I have just one question for the Turnbull government: how well is the last concessional loan scheme you set up—that is, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund—going? The answer is: not very well. More than two years on, not one project has commenced; there is not one shovel in the ground; there is no economic boost for North Queensland; and the only jobs the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund has created are for board members, the CEO and staff. More money has been spent on paying the board and organisational wages than on funding for actual delivery of projects. Instead of the Turnbull government learning from their mistakes, they have created another concessional loan fund. So how long will the regions have to wait for this one? How long will you be paying the board's wages on this before delivering anything?

After the Turnbull government's budget announcement, I met with local business leaders who work across sectors including the agricultural industries, regarding this fund. I was genuinely interested to know how they thought this fund would benefit them and our region, and what it meant for North Queensland in general. Every single one of them said they were taking this announcement with a grain of salt and had no high expectations at all. All business leaders commented they expected it to be like the NAIF: a nice announcement by the Turnbull government but unlikely to actually do or deliver anything. This goes to show just how out of touch this government really is when it comes to regional Queensland. They can't even sell the first concessional loan scheme, and, instead of trying to fix the issues with the NAIF mess, they set up another loan scheme and then another and then another before they manage to get the first one right. The Turnbull government have created more concessional loan schemes than they have created projects to fund.

Let's talk about the slap in the face that the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund has been for the north—another loan scheme where a community is drought declared, on level 3 water restrictions, with less than 20 per cent in our Ross River dam, and Townsville does not qualify to access funds from the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. How does the fund deny drought-declared communities, including the largest city in north Australia that has a desperate need to secure long-term water security? Why would the minister for resources, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, create such ridiculous red-tape rules? What's even worse is that the Queensland state government has to make funds available because the Turnbull government could not get its own announcement right. The Palaszczuk Labor government had to find $15 million for interim funding to support the Deputy Prime Minister's National Water Infrastructure Development Fund to ensure that feasibility studies could go ahead in Queensland. The Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, made such a mess of his own fund that he forgot to advise the proponents that they would receive their funds in arrears. Let's not forget the new drought concessional loan, which has also experienced a very poor take-up rate. And why has it had a poor take-up? Because once again the Turnbull government did not consult.

The Regional Investment Corporation will face the same difficulties as the drought concessional loan. Its role is to provide loans to farm businesses, subject to the applicant meeting specified criteria. The 'subject to the applicant meeting specified criteria' will be centred on the viability of the farm business. It is important to understand that the RIC will be the bank of last resort, as farm businesses will need to be assessed as being viable. Determining whether a farm business is viable has been a major issue for the states when developing the guidelines for concessional loans, and this will continue under the RIC. Furthermore, the concessional loans are only for a period of 10 years. Post 10 years, the farm business will need to re-engage with their bank to secure finance if necessary.

Why can't the Turnbull government get just one of their concessional loan funds right before they start another? This new fund will be like all of the other Turnbull government loans, because the fact is that this government has done no cost-benefit analysis at all. The concept of the RIC has been developed with no cost-benefit analysis as to whether or not the corporation will actually deliver any of the claims put forward by the Turnbull government. In particular, there are no costings on whether the RIC will help fast-track the construction of dams and the priority water infrastructure projects needed to stimulate investment, economic growth and increased agricultural productivity in rural and regional communities.

The location of the RIC in Orange makes sense, building on the existing base of agricultural investment institutions in the city, including the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority and Macquarie Bank's Paraway Pastoral livestock enterprise. The Farm Business Concessional Loans Scheme and the National Water Infrastructure Loan Facility are intended to be budget neutral over their life, with the establishment and operating costs of the corporation recovered by the interest charged on loans to farm businesses and state and territory governments.

The Turnbull government has not done any cost analysis on any of the issues I just raised—more proof that the Turnbull government are great at making announcements but totally lacking in their ability to deliver actual projects. You cannot do this to the people of North Queensland, because they have very long memories. Our communities are facing tough times, and we need real answers, not pie-in-the-sky ideas from the Deputy Prime Minister. The true cost of establishing the Regional Investment Corporation is $81 million over the forwards, with the potential to be higher if the uptake on the loans is low. The existing loans administered by the states and territories will remain the responsibility of the states and territories. Establishing a new body to administer new loans is a waste of taxpayers' money, is inefficient and is costly; $81 million would be better off spent on delivering real projects and real jobs, and I could give the government a list that Townsville would certainly benefit from.

If the Turnbull government really wants to deliver for regional Australia, in particular North Queensland, they should invest in delivering infrastructure projects and not concessional loans. As I said, if this government is short on ideas regarding regional investments they could take a moment to go to my Facebook page and view the dozens of speeches I have made in this place outlining my demands for North Queensland: water security for Townsville, energy security for Townsville—and no, the answer is not a pamphlet plan—reinstate the 200 jobs that the LNP government have cut from the Australian Taxation Office in Townsville, reinstate the jobs in the Department of Veterans' Affairs that have been relocated to Brisbane, and reinstate all regional job losses and relocations, including the five jobs lost from CASA in Townsville. The bare minimum the Turnbull government could do for regional Queensland and this concessional loans scheme would be to at least locate the RIC office in North Queensland.

There has been no transparency in this process; it's just been decided to locate the Regional Investment Corporation in Orange. Why Orange? Why not the Burdekin? The Burdekin has a strong agricultural economy, and their diversification and business models are absolutely amazing. Mayor Lyn McLaughlin has been a great driving force, together with many agricultural organisations in the Burdekin region. North Queensland will become an agricultural hub with growing connections to India and other Asian markets for agriculture, so why would the government not locate the RIC in the Burdekin? Where is the member for Dawson? I ask again: where is the member for Dawson, George Christensen? Why did he not stand up for the Burdekin, which is actually in his electorate? I am here standing in this place, fighting for the Burdekin community, which isn't even in my electorate, and I note that he is not even on the speaking list.

Allow me to reiterate the facts on this bill so far. The Regional Investment Corporation has not been costed. It costs $81 million—possibly more—to administer. No transparent or fair process has been undertaken by the government to determine where to locate the RIC. It is highly likely to be similar to the other useless Turnbull government concessional loan schemes that do nothing. And any funds from the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, as and when they cross over with this fund, are potentially going to be in arrears, with the Queensland government likely to be forced to pick up the federal government's bill again. How could any reasonable person support this bill, especially knowing these facts?

The Turnbull government has to stop making useless announcements and get on with the job of actually delivering projects. I am opposing this bill, because it is a complete and utter waste of taxpayers' money. It will do nothing to deliver projects for North Queensland that could and will create jobs, beyond what the state and federal governments are already doing. I do not support the location in Orange, and I am not supporting any harebrained loan scheme that won't do anything for North Queenslanders, who are desperately in need of jobs. My advice to the government would be: go back to the drawing board. The north is not fooled by this announcement. It is not going to help us in the north. If this bill passes, we will expect the same results as are evident with all of the other announcements from the Turnbull government—all fluff and no guts.

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