Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment Bill 2026. As the member for Durack, I consider this bill to be very close to my electorate and to me. Nearly half of my electorate is part of northern Australia and has benefited from the NAIF.

This bill directly affects me in my role to support those living in the north of Western Australia. The coalition has long supported and advocated for the development of northern Australia. We've always recognised the importance of a strong northern Australia and the prosperity this provides to our economy. It was, of course, a coalition Turnbull government that established the NAIF back in 2016, and I was very proud to support the new funding model at the time. The $7 billion fund has underpinned around 20,000 jobs across Australia. As at October 2025, NAIF was supporting 32 projects.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility has helped improve essential services, strengthened global supply chains, created jobs and training opportunities, supported Indigenous engagement, increased resilience of infrastructure and encouraged private investment. It has been a central pillar of development across northern Australia since its establishment. The investments provided under the NAIF have backed projects across a variety of industries, from agriculture to transport, mining and energy, housing and telecommunications. It was a coalition government that established, funded and legislated the NAIF, and we will continue to ensure it remains for years to come. At the last election, we took a policy to make the fund permanent because we acknowledge the need to cement the north's economic footprint. It is a real shame that the Albanese government is not legislating to make the NAIF permanent. Instead, we are left with uncertainty over the program.

I can attest that the support provided through the NAIF has allowed growth and development in resource-rich regions of Durack, particularly the Kimberley and the Pilbara. Under the Turnbull and Morrison governments, thousands of new jobs were created in Durack from those investments, which have provided arguably billions of dollars in public benefit, with the value growing as these projects evolve. The NAIF plays a vital role in enabling projects that might otherwise never be built. By partnering with private industry to support large-scale infrastructure, the NAIF creates jobs during construction, sustains long-term employment once operational and delivers lasting benefits to those regional communities. For communities across the Kimberley, the Pilbara and beyond, this investment means new opportunities, stronger local economies and greater long-term certainty.

I want to take a moment to note the Minister for Climate Change and Energy's recent comments regarding the Albanese government's NAIF investment in the Perdaman urea project in Karratha. I'd like to take this opportunity to put on record that this investment was created and announced under the Morrison government, to make this important urea project a reality. This was a significant investment in what will be Australia's largest urea plant, kickstarting a new multibillion-dollar fertilising industry, creating 2½ thousand jobs and around $8½ billion in public benefits. This project is significant.

In 2021, in support of the Perdaman project, the coalition announced a NAIF commitment of $160 million to the Pilbara Ports authority. These funds were for a multi-user wharf and facilities at the Port of Dampier. At the same time, there was also a funding commitment of $95 million to the Water Corporation for the expansion of the Burrup seawater supply and brine disposal scheme. It is worth highlighting that both of these entities are owned by the state government of Western Australia. Without the investment by the coalition in the key infrastructure for the Perdaman project, this project would not have got to the starting line.

In addition to investing in state government entities—important infrastructure—the coalition announced a further funding commitment of $220 million to the actual Perdaman urea project in August 2022. I was in Karratha only the other week, and it is so pleasing to see this project coming out of the ground. It is really, really exciting. The coalition supports the extension of the NAIF's investment period for another 10 years, through to 2036. This extension is critical, but, as I said, it would have been preferred if we were today talking about it becoming a permanent body. Major infrastructure projects do not operate on short timelines. Ports, rail networks, energy infrastructure and water projects require long-term planning, financing and construction. Extending the NAIF provides certainty to investors, businesses and communities that the Commonwealth remains committed to the development of northern Australia.

As the member for Durack, of course I would like to see more projects funded by the NAIF in north-west Australia. So, although supporting this extension, the coalition will be focused on ensuring that projects deliver genuine public benefit and that regional communities see real outcomes, not just announcements. Investments must prioritise projects that strengthen local economies, create sustainable employment and deliver lasting benefits to regional communities right across the north. Northern Australia holds enormous potential for our nation's future. From critical minerals and energy to agriculture and international trade, the north will play a vital role in our economic prosperity in the decades ahead.

I reflect on travelling around in 2012 and 2013, when Andrew Robb was the relevant shadow minister, and talking about the development of the north and what we could do there. I think it's fair to say that we still haven't done enough. We still haven't unlocked the economic potential. NAIF is a part of that. If I can give a message to the people in NAIF it would be that if we can make decisions quicker—say no quicker and say yes quicker—I think that would be of enormous potential and an enormous help to those projects, because people are left hanging for far too long. It's a little bit of encouragement. If we're going to say no, we should say no quickly or say yes quickly, so we can actually get these projects out of the ground.

We are supporting this bill. Of course, we support the NAIF. The coalition created the NAIF, and we recognise the importance of continuing this investment. For the communities across Durack and the north, NAIF represents an ongoing commitment to the infrastructure that supports jobs, drives investment and strengthens regional Australia. A thriving north equals a prosperous Australia. It always has; it always will. For that, we need the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund, which is why the coalition created the fund and why we support this bill today.

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