Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Since being appointed as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans’ Affairs and Northern Australia in July last year, I've been working with stakeholders and with governments, including local government, to deliver real outcomes for northern Australia. These outcomes mean jobs, much-needed infrastructure and long-term prosperity for our northern Australian communities. It's been a busy week in Darwin—my home and the place that I'm proud to represent here—and a big week for resources industries across the north. I attended the Bush Summit on Monday in Darwin, and NT Resources Week kicks off today at the fantastic Darwin Convention Centre. I want to give a shout-out to Peter Savoff and the multi-award-winning team at the Darwin Convention Centre for the great work they do.

NT Resources Week focuses on driving resources, industry, investment and trade opportunities in northern Australia, and it combines three conferences in one. The first is SEAAOC, the South East Asia Australia Offshore and Onshore Conference, which is northern Australia's largest and longest-established petroleum conference. The second is the Mining the Territory conference, which is northern Australia's leading mining conference, taking a deep dive into our north Australian industry. The third is the Clean Energy and Decarbonisation conference. We all know that the Northern Territory is at the forefront of Australia's energy transition, with projects like SunCable leading the way and tapping the incredible potential of solar energy—what I like to call 'Territory gold'—to power local industry and the energy needs of our neighbours, such as Singapore and others in the future, and to help assist us all to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The Albanese Labor government is fully committed to northern Australia. We have worked to ensure that the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility, or NAIF, is supporting key projects that help unlock the north's potential and deliver tangible benefits to northern communities. We've also amended the NAIF Investment Mandate and Statement of Expectations so that the NAIF is able to invest in a much broader range of projects, ranging from resources and energy to airport upgrades, agriculture, aquaculture and social infrastructure, including social housing and university accommodation, which are so much needed.

To date, NAIF has committed over $4.3 billion to 32 projects across Northern Australia. I'm pleased to say that the NAIF has supported eight projects in the Northern Territory, with loans totalling around $0.9 billion. We look forward to getting up over the billion-dollar mark soon. These 32 projects in the north are forecast to generate more than $33 billion in public benefit and support thousands of jobs in the north.

One of the most exciting developments is Arafura Rare Earths' Nolans Project, located north of Alice Springs. The Australian government is proud to have invested in this project with support from the NAIF, Export Finance Australia and the National Reconstruction Fund. This rare earths mine and processing facility will supply materials essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence technologies, to name a few. It is expected to create hundreds of jobs and deliver long-term economic benefits to the Territory, particularly Central Australia, through logistics services and training opportunities, strengthening our human capital and building skills for the future.

The Nolans rare earth project directly supports key government agendas, including the Critical minerals strategy 2023-2030, the Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, the Building Better Regions Fund, building the Future Made in Australia and the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan, to name a few. The NAIF is also supporting smaller innovative projects such as a local Territory start-up called Environmental Keystones, which is leading the country with a groundbreaking green energy project. Environmental Keystones, supported by the CSIRO and Pyrochar, is building a world-first pyrolysis plant to convert green waste—palm fronds, clippings, wood chips—into biochar, syngas and bio-oil. This $8 million project backed by the NAIF will create 30 construction jobs and 12 ongoing roles. It is clean, smart and Territory made, showing the world the north can lead on innovation, not just playing catch-up as we have done in the past but leading. We are proud to be doing so. I spoke earlier about how the NAIF investment mandate and statement of expectations have been amended so that the NAIF is able to invest in a broader range of projects, including agriculture, as I might have mentioned earlier, and social housing.

When it comes to social housing and social infrastructure, this now is a very important mandate or focus for the NAIF. We know that housing supply issues are important not just for the big cities in the south but for the north as well. If we are to grow and prosper in the north—and we need to to grow the population—we need investment in housing and community infrastructure to attract workers and capital. People want to come live in northern Australia, but we need to catch up in our social infrastructure and housing.

Last year, I had the opportunity to visit in Cairns the Seniors Community Housing Project, which was funded with a loan of up to $140 million in partnership with Housing Australia and Queensland's Housing Investment Fund. This is Queensland's biggest social and affordable housing project. It will deliver a whopping 490 homes in Woree, a suburb to the south of Cairns. Using innovative construction methods, they have already installed more than 20 housing models at the site, and it's currently on track for construction to be complete by the end of 2026. This project is a great example of how the NAIF can boost social infrastructure and genuinely make lives better for people living in the north. This particular project in Cairns is very special because it addresses housing challenges for senior members of the Cairns community, the elders of the Cairns community, who can be vulnerable to risks of homelessness and, of course, loneliness. The seniors community village that we're building there with NAIF support will address that. Importantly, using innovative construction methods, it provides a powerful model for other parts of northern Australia, and I'm very eager to promote those. Certainly, in Darwin we have similar challenges, and I'm very keen for the proponent in Cairns to look a bit further to the west for another great opportunity, hopefully backed by the NAIF.

To ensure that the NAIF remains fit for purpose, last year, our government appointed an independent expert panel to review the NAIF Act. The panel was chaired by my good friend and former colleague, a former member of this place, the former member for Lingiari, the Hon. Warren Snowdon, working alongside Dr Lisa Caffery and Professor Peter Yu, all long-term champions of the north. Their review recognises the importance of the NAIF in northern Australia and makes 21 recommendations aimed at strengthening the outcomes that the NAIF can deliver. Our government is currently considering these recommendations and will respond in due course. Our focus will remain on ensuring that the NAIF can continue to deliver real outcomes for the north. To inform its recommendations, the panel received 40 written submissions and held 85 targeted meetings with stakeholders from all levels of government, industry, First Nations organisations, research groups and regional development bodies. They attended six site visits to consider current and potential outcomes of NAIF investments as well.

To further secure Australia's position in the global critical minerals market, our government is establishing a $1.2 billion Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, which I mentioned earlier, stockpiling essential minerals like lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths; ensuring more supply chain resilience; and supporting advanced manufacturing, clean energy and defence. This reserve will also incentivise domestic exploration and production, creating new opportunities for Territory based projects and projects across the north, and reinforcing our role as a reliable global supplier.

Finally, I want to thank the staff of the NAIF that not only live in the north but around Australia; in particular, CEO Craig Doyle, who's done a fantastic job and is now retiring. Long may the NAIF deliver for the north.

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