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

Northern Australia is half of our continent by landmass and home to some of our most dynamic industries, our fastest growing communities and the First Nations peoples whose stewardship of country spans millennia. Of course, a strong north means a strong Australia, and today I'm proud to speak in support of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment Bill 2026, which will extend the NAIF, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, for a further 10 years. This is a practical, nation-building step that will unlock investment, create jobs, deepen First Nations participation and help secure critical supply chains as we transition to net zero, all while returning significant public benefit well beyond the Commonwealth's outlay—as significant as the Commonwealth's outlay is.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is a $7 billion Commonwealth financier that provides concessional finance to infrastructure projects in the NT—and I'm proud to represent Territorians—in northern Queensland and in north-west WA, as well as in the Indian Ocean territories, finely represented by my mate and colleague the member for Lingiari in this place. These are projects that may often struggle to attract commercial finance because of their remoteness, their high level of risk—at times—the smaller populations and the long project timeframes.

Over its life, the NAIF has already committed more than $4 billion—as has been said, it had a slow start—hitting the ground in 32 project investments. The forecast public benefits now exceed $33 billion, so it's been a great return on investment from the NAIF so far. Importantly, tens of thousands of jobs have also been supported in the north. The core rationale for the NAIF and for economic and social development in the north remains unchanged: there is a genuine financing gap in our north, and the NAIF fills that gap. Distance, cyclones, flooding—like what we've got in the Territory at the moment—sparse populations and high logistics costs mean that commercially bankable projects often stall without catalytic public financing. The NAIF was designed to fill that gap.

Reforms since 2021 have equipped it with more flexible tools to do that job even more effectively. A new investment mandate strengthened the facility's ability to support high-impact projects, expanding eligibility and clarifying how to assess public benefit. It has also enabled on-lending arrangements to help regional and community-scale projects and removed earlier restrictions that limited the NAIF's ability to carry appropriate risk when it was necessary to unlock projects of national significance. With this flexibility, the NAIF has accelerated its commitments and broadened its portfolio across critical minerals, renewable energy, transport, logistics, water infrastructure, education and social infrastructure.

Recent annual reports and quarterly updates show a clear trajectory of delivery: over $4.3 billion committed across 32 projects, as I mentioned; forecast public benefit between $33 billion and $38 billion; over 18,000 jobs supported across the north; multiple loans already fully repaid, proving the recyclability of the NAIF model; and hundreds of millions deployed each financial year as projects reach major milestones. The 2023-24 annual report of the NAIF highlighted more than half a billion dollars in approved loans in that year alone, generating billions in projected public benefit. The project pipeline remains strong and includes major critical minerals developments, renewable energy hubs and key logistics corridors. This is direct, measurable, place based progress.

One of the NAIF's most important contributions is its integration of First Nations participation into every project. Every proponent must develop an Indigenous engagement strategy outlining commitments for employment, procurement, training and community benefit. This has delivered real outcomes across the north—more than 1,000 First Nations jobs supported; more than 190 Indigenous businesses engaged; and tens of millions spent on Indigenous procurement, scholarships, training pathways and mentoring programs linked to NAIF-supported project activity.

Case studies demonstrate this impact vividly, from scholarship programs in Townsville to pathways in Western Australia's Mid West region. These are significant long-term workforce and capability investments that strengthen communities and deliver economic inclusion. The renewed 10-year mandate in this bill will allow NAIF to deepen this focus, including expanded pathways for traditional owner organisations to be project proponents or co-investors where this is appropriate.

I want to go next to securing our economic transition and supply chains. Northern Australia is central to our future, and it is the nation's engine room for critical minerals, agriculture, resources and renewable energy opportunities. Extending NAIF ensures that patient capital is available to projects that derisk private investment in these areas of critical minerals processing and clean energy generation but also important transmission infrastructure, export capacity expansion and enabling infrastructure for new industries. This support is essential for Australia's industrial transformation and our ability to strengthen sovereign capability.

We're building resilient communities where people want to live. The north's economic future depends on its liveability, and this means investing in airports, in education precincts, in health facilities, in digital infrastructure and in community services. NAIF's track record supporting universities, like Charles Darwin University in my electorate, airport expansions, community facilities and regional services highlights the importance of social infrastructure to population growth, to workforce retention and to long-term regional sustainability. This 10-year extension will provide the certainty required for councils, universities and local developers to plan multi-year precincts and community anchoring projects.

We're partnering with First Nations to co-design prosperity. A longer horizon creates the space for deeper First Nations participation and long-term planning. This includes pathways for equity participation by traditional owner entities; stronger procurement and employment commitments; sustainable capability building, and capacity building for that matter; alignment between NAIF investments and local community priorities. The 10-year extension allows for long-term partnerships rather than short-term transactions.

The government has introduced legislation to extend NAIF's investment period by 10 years, supported by modernised governance arrangements, including, but not limited to, joint ministerial responsibility, regular statutory reviews in 2029, then 2034 and beyond, strengthened alignment with national strategic policies. Earlier independent reviews found there was strong support from government, industry and regional communities for NAIF's continuation. The five-year review cycle will ensure that NAIF remains contemporary, accountable and fit for purpose. Combined with a refreshed investment mandate, these arrangements maintain the right balance between independence, oversight and strategic direction. What another decade enables is a practical agenda, providing certainty for long-term projects and ensuring strong accountability.

I want to focus on five things it will enable. The first is critical minerals and clean energy precincts, with the enabling infrastructure—power, water, transport and common-user facilities—needed to support processing and value-adding in Australia. The second is transport and logistics corridors, which means ports, intermodals, airports and roads that reduce freight costs and strengthen Australia's competitiveness. Way back when NAIF started there was an opportunity to do that with the Darwin port, using NAIF to help an Australian proponent. But I won't digress. The third is water security and climate resilience, which requires resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding cyclones, flooding and climate pressures, including modern water systems and nature-positive remediation projects. That's something very close to my heart. The fourth is social infrastructure that anchors population. That is health, education, community housing and digital backbone investments that attract people and talent to the north, not only through jobs but through helping to anchor that workforce in the north. The fifth is greater First Nations enterprise participation, involving the expansion of Indigenous engagement requirements into long-term capability and ownership opportunities.

Extending the NAIF is also about national resilience. Northern Australia is a strategic region for our country, central to our relationships in the Indo-Pacific—South-East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific countries themselves. But we are uniquely exposed to climate impacts, as are being experienced across the north right now. Strong infrastructure—ports, roads, grids and water systems—strengthens national security, humanitarian response capability and economic sovereignty. NAIF is a vehicle that helps to deliver that infrastructure responsibly, patiently and in line with our national priorities.

NAIF was established with bipartisan support and has been extended and strengthened under successive governments of both sides of the chamber. That continuity has enabled projects across Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Indian Ocean Territories to grow with confidence. The proposed 10-year extension continues this tradition of national interest above politics. The rehabilitation of the Mount Morgan site illustrates NAIF's value—a complex legacy project now supporting hundreds of jobs, delivering environmental benefits and producing critical minerals essential for a clean energy future. University expansions, airport upgrades that are desperately needed across the north and Indigenous procurement successes further reinforce how NAIF's investments shape vibrant communities, not just balance sheets. These are the human stories behind the spreadsheets—stories of regions revived, opportunities created and communities strengthened.

Extending NAIF's mandate for another decade, as well as the additional $2 billion that have been put into it in recent times, is a clear-eyed investment in Australia's future. It supports vital economic infrastructure in the north, it strengthens regional communities in the north, it advances First Nations participation in the north, it catalyses private investment and it enhances national resilience for our whole country. A stronger north means a stronger nation. Let's extend the NAIF for another 10 years, put billions more into it and continue building the infrastructure of a secure, prosperous, strengthened and inclusive Australia.

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