Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take those interjections. I'm sure they're applauding that line I just used. But, importantly, Kyle Yanner is a very good mayor. He's one of those grounded, earthy mayors that we know and love in our local government sphere. He has fought to get a swimming pool in Mornington Island. I've been to see the minister for infrastructure. It's unfinished business of mine. For God's sake, why shouldn't a community of 1,200 in the Gulf of Carpentaria have a swimming pool they could call their own? Why shouldn't they? It just beggars belief.

I know that regional funding was severely cut back last night. I appreciate that the Building Better Regions Fund is continuing. I appreciate that the member for Parkes has been asked to be on a board that oversees future projects. I urge, encourage, implore and beg—I'll get down on my hands and knees if I have to. We need to see a swimming pool for the Mornington shire. It's a long, long way from my electorate, Riverina, but it doesn't matter. It's the right thing to do. It's in northern Australia, so, Member for Brand—Minister—if you have anything to do with it, if ever you can use your persuasion and your ministerial skills, please help me help that community get a swimming pool. They deserve it, they need it, they want it. It's a no-brainer, quite frankly.

This legislation is important. We know how important the NAIF has been. When changes were made to the NAIF to make sure that more money got out the door because the original conditions around it were probably a little restrictive, I think you saw it at its best self. This Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023 makes a number of amendments to give effect to previous coalition government announcements, and it clarifies definitions and existing powers relating to Indigenous persons. Indigenous people should have a say in this. It expands NAIF's appropriation from $5 billion to $7 billion.

It expands the geographical remit to include the Indian Ocean Territories, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. I mentioned Ms Griggs before. This was announced by the coalition before the last election because the coalition cared about northern Australia. I see the minister nodding. I'm sure she does too. She knows, being from Western Australia, how important the Northern Territory, northern Queensland and northern Western Australia are. To expand the remit for this is important. It also makes a technical clarification under constitutional powers to specifically refer to the benefit of Indigenous persons, a power originally added under the coalition's 2021 reforms.

It's a government bill, but it adds to what we did in government. While those opposite might come in often and decry what we did as a government, we were a good government. We certainly were a government that looked at northern Australia with a lens to the future. We looked to the areas, the cities, the regional communities in northern Australia, knowing that there was so much potential there.

I look forward to Lia Finocchiaro being the future Country Liberal Party Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. I look forward to next year's Queensland elections. I think they will put an important marker in the ground as far as the future for northern Australia particularly. I commend the work that is being done and I commend the previous work that was done by such ministers as Senator Canavan and Mr Pitt in their ministries for northern Australia. It's too important to get wrong. Whilst I come from a long, long way from northern Australia, I appreciate why we have a Minister for Northern Australia. I appreciate why it is important.

That's why we as a coalition government introduced the NAIF in 2016. It was in order to provide grants in such a way that states and territories were also able to tip into this important bucket to get things done. When I talk about getting things done and I talk about northern Australia, I am very disappointed that water infrastructure seems to have been pushed to the side in last night's budget. I just finished speaking in the House on the jobs and skills bill. If you can get things done in a nation-building way, it is through water infrastructure. It floodproofs areas, it builds agriculture, and it has been completely ignored in the budget. I am so disappointed about that. Rest assured, northern Australia is important. Forget what you just heard from the member for Kooyong. Mining is also important, and I'm sure the minister, the good member for Brand, in her summing up, will back me up almost all of the way in everything I have just said.

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