Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023. The Albanese Labor government is committed to developing Northern Australia and to supporting the lives and lifestyles of people in our northern region. This bill amends the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016. It proposes to increase the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility's appropriation from $5 billion to $7 billion; to add Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands—collectively, the Indian Ocean Territories—to the definition of Northern Australia in the act; and to clarify that the persons to which section 7(1A)(b) of the act refers are Indigenous persons, and that the objectives of the act include the provision of financial assistance for the development of northern Australian economic infrastructure for the benefit of Indigenous persons.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility has had a pretty chequered history. I remember reading the white paper on developing northern Australia back in June 2015. It was a policy proposal that had some good initiatives. It was commissioned by the former Abbott government. It was talking about new dams in the north, new roads, airstrips, water infrastructure and the development of the north for the benefit of Australia's First Nations people. It noted the fact that the northern parts of Australia, where about a million Australians live, compared to about 25 million living in the southern bit below the Tropic of Capricorn, could be an economic powerhouse. It still does a lot, including the cattle industry, tourism, mining and a whole range of areas across my home state of Queensland as well as the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

As a Queenslander, I have travelled extensively to northern parts of my state, through the Northern Territory—particularly, on many occasions, with the former member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon—and also up in the Kimberley and the northern parts of Western Australia. I can tell you it's a great experience. For those Australians who might be listening, it's really important to look and see the potential that we have in the northern part of Australia and to look at the great work done by people like the Indigenous rangers in places like Maningrida in the northern parts of the country. It's fantastic.

But the infrastructure that we need there in the north is something that's taking a long time. I think it's quite clear that for a number of years the NAIF, which we called the 'No Actual Infrastructure Facility', was an abject failure under the previous government when it was first established. As the former shadow minister for northern Australia, I remember we'd see ministers go up there and say one thing in a speech and then report on the NAIF in the parliament and the House of Representatives, and I'd shake my head and think, 'That doesn't accord with what they actually said in the press release before.' Then they'd have another press release after. It just seemed like the figures would waft off the top. It really was quite extraordinary that at times they could lose jobs and then gain jobs, and the figures didn't match. It just seemed like the previous government had no real focus on what actually was happening.

I remember one particular occasion with one of the ministers. You could see his puzzlement on his face, because I was quoting his figures back at him, and it didn't accord with the speech he'd just given to the House of Representatives. There was no real focus in the previous government. It seemed also that you had to be a donor to the LNP to have any opportunity to get on the board at one stage, because half the people on the board were donors to the LNP in Queensland. The extent to which the NAIF seemed to lose focus was astonishing. It was taken as something that was going to achieve things but never actually achieved the national economic significance that it was meant to have.

Eventually, after reviews and a lot of criticism by their own side and by people outside—I've met with people, chambers of commerce, in the north of Queensland who were very, very critical of the NAIF. The NAIF's purpose in large part was to provide assistance. It was to provide bespoke and flexible loan facilities and concessional loans, including longer loan tenure than that offered by commercial financiers but not exceeding the longest term of Commonwealth borrowings. It was to make sure that lower interest rates were offered. It was to make sure that extended periods of capitalisation beyond construction could be completed. It was to make sure that there were lines-of-credit guarantees and that lending could be provided; to make sure there were small loans for small-scale projects; and to help finance partnerships; and there were a whole range of other clever, flexible and bespoke ways in which the NAIF was supposed to assist people in the northern part of the country.

Eventually, after a long period of time, towards the end of the previous government's tenure, they started to get it together. They did make the announcement that we're legislating here. The $5 billion was going to increase to $7 billion but, like a lot of what they said they were going to do, they never got around to doing it. The increase of $2 billion was confirmed in the October budget that we did and matches the previous government's spoken commitment to do it. The additional $2 billion will enhance the NAIF's capacity to provide financial assistance to businesses and communities, and it demonstrates the bipartisan approach we took to supporting the NAIF when it was created. Complaining about the government's failure to get it focused has been carried out by the Albanese Labor government, which is committed to making sure that the NAIF does its job.

The NAIF is financing infrastructure development with $3.9 billion in loans approved for projects to date, $2.6 billion of which is already contractually committed. These investments are forecast to generate $29 billion in economic benefits and to support more than 14,800 jobs, which is very good for northern Australia and good for the country. This will ensure that we grow the pipeline of investments into the northern economies of our country, which was talked about previously in the white paper and endlessly by the previous government without much success, and boost local employment opportunities. Continuing investment in the NAIF will make a significant contribution to whole-of-government objectives, including action on climate change, and if ever a part of the country was going to be affected by climate change, with cyclones, floods and fires, it is northern Australia. Also, it provides practical ways to the Closing the Gap goals and implement statements such as the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

By extending the definition of 'northern Australia' to include the Indian Ocean Territories, the NAIF will be empowered to provide financial assistance to the development of economic infrastructure as a basis for economic growth and the stimulation of populations in those territories. The inclusion of those territories was a public announcement of the previous government, but it is this government that is actually carrying that out. The government strongly supports this measure, because access to the facility to provide opportunities in these territories will enable businesses to diversify and create new jobs. These territories have immeasurable and immense potential. There is tourism, for a start. There is incredible biodiversity and natural beauty that will attract tourists, and there are real opportunities there. The NAIF will assist the Indian Ocean Territories in many ways to achieve that potential. Allowing the Indian Ocean Territories to benefit from financial assistance provided by the facility will enable local businesses to create jobs, and I think it really goes hand in glove with our core principle about no-one being left behind and no-one being held back.

The third change made by this section refers to that section I referred to earlier and makes reference to section 51(xxvi) of the Constitution, with the purpose of enabling the NAIF to provide assistance for the development of northern Australia infrastructure for the benefit of a racial group, and that will be beneficial. This is a problematic subsection of the Constitution, I might add, because, as previous joint select committees of this parliament have found, there's an opportunity within that subsection for the country to see adverse impacts passed by legislation. Almost every time in the past that subsection in our Constitution has been invoked, there has been a negative outcome for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. So that's one of those subsections of the Constitution that I have real concerns about, and I think that at some stage as a country we should be looking to make amendments to that, as has been found on previous occasions by a joint select committee chaired by former Indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt, which I was a part of some years ago and which looked at that particular subsection.

In any event, there's a general reference in this subsection of the Constitution, and it's ambiguous. There's an opportunity, I think, for an act which should refer directly to the people for whom the parliament is making the law. There's clarification here that the persons referred to in section 7(1A)(b) are Indigenous persons. It removes the potential ambiguity in the act. As I say, I think that subsection of the Constitution, like another section which contemplates the idea of states taking away First Nations people's voting rights and only being punished for doing so by not having those persons included in a census for the purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, really should be looked at in a referendum at some stage in the future. I know we've got the Voice to Parliament referendum later this year, but I think that as a country we should have a really good look at those other sections of the Constitution. This amendment, this legislative change that we're bringing today, is consistent with our commitment to the Voice to Parliament, and the government is strongly committed to improving outcomes for First Nations people.

More broadly, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility can play a significant role in supporting the government's regional and northern Australia agendas, including ambition on climate change and investing in manufacturing renewables for our First Nations people, particularly in the north. There are many projects that we've talked about, certainly in our first budget, which saw many new investments in northern Australia: for example, to name just a few, $70 million for the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub up in Western Australia and $565 million for common user port facilities in the Pilbara. In my home state of Queensland, there's $150 million for the Cairns Marine Precinct, $50 million for the Central Queensland University campus, $79.1 million for the Townsville Hydrogen Hub, and $188 million for the Great Barrier Reef, which is not just a World Heritage facility; I make the point that it's a great tourism and economic development region for Queensland. There's $400 million in the Queensland Beef Corridors, which includes road infrastructure for the Dawson, Burnett and Leichhardt highways.

In the Northern Territory, there's $80 million for the National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs to establish a world-leading facility displaying Australia's most significant First Nations artists. I've seen some amazing art galleries and artistic talent in places like Maningrida, Halls Creek, the Kimberley, Alice Springs and Far North Queensland—the cape and Torres Strait. These are great economic opportunities, not just in the development of the talents and skills of our First Nations people but in selling Australia to the world. It's a great tourist opportunity and a great opportunity for people in northern Australia.

This is just a snapshot of some of the things that we're doing in the north of Australia. We are taking action on climate change, as we saw with the passage of the safeguard mechanism through the House. This is really important. In the northern part of Australia, taking action on climate change is really critical, and I think that will be very important.

There are so many critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, rare earth metals, platinum and silicon—the foundation for most of the clean energy technologies, such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels. This is where northern Australia can play a big role. The NAIF has a real opportunity for us to exercise those loan facilities and that support for taking action on climate change in northern Australia. There is a real opportunity for people in my home state of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia's northern part. I am very pleased to support this legislation. I have been a big supporter of the development of the north of my home state for a long time. I have family and friends living in places like Cairns and Townsville, and I've visited the cape and the Torres Strait many times. This is a great opportunity. I'm pleased to support this bill, and I commend it to the House.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023. The aim of this bill is to increase the NAIF appropriation from some $5 billion to $7 billion. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, the NAIF, was established in 2016. It's a government agency with $5 billion to invest to provide the basis for economic and population growth in northern Australia. The NAIF was established with the intent to fill financing gaps in northern Australia by being more risk tolerant to uniquely northern Australian characteristics like remoteness, distance and climate, because—let's be clear—northern Australia will be on the front line of global warming impacts.

This bill will increase the NAIF's appropriation from $5 billion to $7 billion. It also amends the definition of northern Australia within the act to include Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, collectively known as the Indian Ocean Territories. The bill also clarifies that the objectives of the act include a provision of financial assistance for the development of northern Australian economic infrastructure for the benefit of Indigenous persons. I welcome this initiative increasing consideration of benefit to First Nations people, and I hope this will contribute towards a much-needed boost for their economic wellbeing and agency in that sense. Investment in resource extraction by government, particularly fossil fuel, remains a major concern for many Indigenous people and people across the country. In the last parliament, in fact, I met a number of community groups and First Nations representatives who came to discuss their concern about the impact on country of certain projects.

I will be proposing amendments, at the consideration-in-detail stage of this bill, to prevent this increase in public funds to $7 billion from being used to prop up and invest in further fossil fuel infrastructure. With this fund, we are not talking small amounts of taxpayer money; we're talking billions of dollars, a huge sum that will be spent, and we can't allow it to become a government controlled slush fund. We must act to ensure taxpayer money is not used to support mature technologies. Fossil fuel industries are mature technologies. They should be able to stand up on their own without subsidy. They need to be able to make their own investment. They ultimately make record profits and pay very little tax.

At present, Australia's emission reduction target and our obligations under the Paris Agreement are one factor that the board may consider when determining the execution of powers under this act and determining funding proposals under the NAIF. I strongly believe that these factors should be a 'must' consideration. They should be a threshold consideration to these projects, especially when we are talking about a region of Australia that will be on the front line of impacts. We are talking about a region that will have a terrible time when it comes to insurance, when it comes to an unprecedented scale of impacts on lifestyle, so it's really important to understand that should be a 'must' consideration, not just a 'may'.

One of the key projects that have had their hands out for funding from the NAIF has been in the Beetaloo basin. This should not be receiving government subsidy under this facility. The Beetaloo basin is a methane bomb, and it was incredibly disappointing in the last parliament that in fact, when the coalition government sought to fund the Beetaloo basin exploration through the NAIF, Labor sided with the coalition and voted for that to continue. We tried to stop it with a disallowance of an instrument, but, sadly, major parties continued this prop-up of mature technologies when it comes to fossil fuels.

Let's be clear about what a project like the Beetaloo basin means. It risks Australia failing to meet its Paris commitments. One conservative report projected that the basin will release some 117 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per annum, equivalent to one-fifth of Australia's total annual emissions. We must reject any move to allow further funding of fossil fuel projects, especially the Beetaloo basin, especially when there are so many other projects that genuinely will help communities in the Northern Territory. Despite all the hype and all the talk, gas is as polluting as coal. In fact, in some ways, it is worse, because methane is up to 80 times more potent at warming over the first 20 years than carbon dioxide. So if we're genuinely concerned about where we're heading and meeting the Paris Agreement of 1.5 degrees, the low-hanging fruit is addressing the early warming capacity of methane.

The other reality is that projects like the Beetaloo are actually really poor economics. Right now, we know gas companies are making record profits, and they ought to be able to invest in their own development. In fact, just with the budget release and the announcement of the petroleum resource rent tax by the government, we see that the government is giving multinational gas companies the opportunity to recoup their investment on exploration and developing projects for some seven years. From when production commences, for seven years there is no requirement to pay any kind of royalty on what is extracted. So that is the period assessed as being how to recoup for that investment. And then, when the PRRT kicks in, they get to double dip. They get to again count that initial investment into infrastructure and exploration and deduct that against their cap of profits, and then their PRRT is only payable on that little bit remaining.

For me, it just cannot be that, on top of all of that very beneficial treatment—and experts have said that this is one of the most generous processes and tax treatments of gas extraction in the world—we can't also be spending public money on actually developing the infrastructure that they are going to require. Over the longer term, we know the gas industry's revenues will be eroded, because we know renewable energy is the only form of energy that has a deflationary price. And so we know that major fossil fuel companies know there is shareholder wealth, and they're having to write down billions in assets. They want to have the record profits, but they don't want to be left with stranded assets, so they would really prefer the public purse to be paying for those assets in the first place. For example, since 2014 Santos has written down over $8 billion of its assets, so we know these key core infrastructure assets are going to be stranded assets. That's why, generally, they want the public purse to pay for them.

Many gas projects have been abandoned, and R&D spending has been downsizing. Oil and gas are in a precarious position, caught between a confluence of forces. It's in structural decline. The industry knows this, and the market knows this. That's why they've got their hands out for subsidies from sympathetic governments. The answer should be an unequivocal no.

A recent Grattan Institute report, Flame out: the future of natural gas, said that the only rational approach for governments, the energy industry and its customers is to begin planning for a future without natural gas or, at least, with a substantially reduced role for natural gas. Instead of redirecting funding to fossil fuel projects, the NAIF should be promoting a clean technology vision for northern Australia. Northern Australia has enormous potential to supply the world with energy harnessed from remarkable wind and solar resources. The Sun Cable project and the Asian Renewable Energy Hub are just two examples of what is possible.

The amendments that I will propose will ensure that the NAIF funding is directed only towards worthy projects, not fossil fuel projects. The NAIF should remain independent. It should invest only in clean technologies that are actually for the future of northern Australia. Anything else would be irresponsible and would be public money wasted. At a time where there is so much need within communities, that kind of prioritising must occur. I commend the government for the bill, the support of the Northern Territory and the funding, but let's get real and make sure that that funding goes to where it should.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023 seeks to amend the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016 and extend eligibility for NAIF financing to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, affectionately known across parliament as the Indian Ocean Territories. This is a fantastic outcome for those external territories and one that we have been advocating for. The NAIF provides a basis for economic growth in Northern Australia and helps to stimulate population growth.

The bill amends section 5 of the act to incorporate the territory of Christmas Island, the territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the territorial sea adjacent to these territories within the definition of the term 'northern Australia'. By extending the definition of northern Australia in this manner, the bill will enable NAIF to provide financial assistance for the development of economic infrastructure that provides a basis for growth or that stimulates population growth in the IOTs. Enabling the Indian Ocean Territories to access NAIF financial assistance will support opportunities for residents and for businesses to diversify, and it will create more economic development opportunities across the IOTs. The economies of the IOTs exist in very unique circumstances, and there are potential benefits for investment in sustainable diversification. The NAIF can assist proponents in the Indian Ocean Territories to realise this potential by providing concessional loans and other financing solutions to eligible projects.

As the minister for territories, I want to congratulate my colleague and friend the Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, Madeleine King, on taking this important step to include the IOTs in the NAIF. Yesterday I heard the Leader of the Nationals speaking about how wonderful it was that the IOTs are now a part of the NAIF. It begs the question: why wasn't it done by those opposite when they were in government for over nine years?

The Indian Ocean Territories are unique and they deserve access to funding that will help them diversify their economies. We know that providing economic assistance and growth in our remote territories is incredibly important, and it's taken a Labor government to ensure that our external territories are starting to have access to important programs such as the NAIF. Under the previous government, we saw external territories excluded from grants programs and frameworks frequently, and it is a shame, because we know that so many people in our external territories could effect change by having access to grants available from the Australian government. Since becoming the minister, it has been one of my key priorities to ensure that our external territories are able to access Australian government grants. I am pleased to report the process is going well, and I am looking forward to updating the House in the future about this progress.

On my recent trip to the Indian Ocean Territories, to both the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, it was fantastic to see some of the bespoke grant opportunities that have been provided working out so well. Agricultural grants in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands show a new and different way of growing fresh food and making that fresh food easier to access and more available to locals. We're seeing renewable energy grants which can harness the availability of sun and wind power and reduce the reliance on imported diesel, which is hugely important across the Indian Ocean Territories. Innovation grants are helping small businesses get off the ground and helping communities who need support to make sure that they've got that lift behind them as they first get into a new business.

Since its inception, for every dollar invested by NAIF we've seen a return of $2.70 unlocked by the private sector. That's a fantastic return on investment that we want to see continue to grow. I think there will be some fantastic outcomes for the Indian Ocean Territories having access to NAIF. There are some fantastic ideas. My colleague the member for Lingiari is wandering in at the moment, and she is the local representative for the Indian Ocean Territories. She too knows how fantastic those communities are over there—their innovation, their desire to be more resilient and their desire to move away from having to wait for ships for fresh food, diesel and other supplies from the mainland. They want to do more for themselves, but they need a little bit of assistance every now and then to get some of these projects off the ground. So it was fantastic to see some of the agricultural trials being run on Cocos island. It is fantastic to see the innovation that is coming forward, such as fresh food being grown entirely in buckets of water without entering the soil at all. There are some really exciting things happening.

There is more to do in this space, which is why our government's committing to extending NAIF to include the Indian Ocean territories is such a win for two communities that are already doing so much. It is going to be a fantastic opportunity for the residents and businesses and community across the Indian Ocean territories to be able to apply to NAIF to see what else can be done across their communities. We know that they have ongoing challenges. We know that there have been significant issues with coastal erosion on Cocos island. We need to make sure that we are working with those communities on how best to protect them but also on how best to enhance the other opportunities they have on the island. Christmas Island is a beautiful place, one with enormous opportunity and potential. We've seen that already with a number of businesses there, but there is so much more to do. In my recent trip there, the desire to have bespoke tourism opportunities available on Christmas Island was something that the community was crying out for—what else can we do to attract people to the island to holiday?—but also to put in those businesses investments. Extending NAIF to include the Indian Ocean territories is going to give some certainty and confidence to those people on the islands who are keen to invest and grow businesses but also give some certainty and confidence to those people who aren't permanently on the island but who want to look at what they can do to increase the business and tourism opportunities across the island as well.

Again, I commend my colleague Minister King for the work she has done in extending the NAIF program to include the Indian Ocean territories. It will be a real win for those communities. I know my colleague the member for Lingiari is especially excited about this. There has been a tonne of work advocating to make sure that we include the Indian Ocean territories as part of NAIF. It is a job that should have been done by the previous government a lot earlier but is one that I know the residents of those islands will be very happy has been done. Their advocacy has not gone unnoticed, and we thank them for their continued support of the Australian government to make sure that they can look at the opportunities that exist for them to do more for their own communities, to grow their own foods and to look at the different ideas they have around energy rather than relying on imported diesel all the time. So congratulations to Minister King, thank you to the member for Lingiari and a big congratulations to the residents of the Indian Ocean territories for their continued advocacy.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As our lead speaker has indicated, we in the coalition support this bill, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023. We are very proud of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, which we established in government as part of having as a priority the concept of nation-building and investing in projects of a significance that can really help us as a country take a quantum leap forward. When I was first elected to this parliament I served in the party room for one meeting with a very famous coalition senator, Ian Macdonald, who had been defeated at the 2019 election but served until 30 June in that Senate term. Senator Macdonald gave a contribution at that meeting, which colleagues who had served with him in the party room for a long time said was an almost identical contribution to the one he gave at every single party room meeting. It was about the significance of northern Australia—he hailed from Northern Queensland—and how underutilised was the full economic value that northern Australia could provide to our nation, notwithstanding the fact that there is an existing, very significant, spectacular contribution to our economy, particularly in the agricultural, resource and tourism sectors.

My grandfather was a general manager of Mount Isa Mines for the last 12 or 15 years of his career. At one point it was the second-largest company in the country and certainly one of the biggest copper producers in the world. It's way beyond just a copper mine; it's a very significant business in northern Australia. Northern Australia is doing amazing things economically, but it can do even more economically if we understand the value of investing in nation-building infrastructure. That was the concept behind the germination of the NAIF under the previous coalition government—to create a process for the Commonwealth to invest in those kinds of significant projects.

This underscores that we are not seeing the nation-building projects of decades gone by being brought forward by the states, who have almost a monopoly on approaching the Commonwealth with infrastructure concepts that they, of course, want us to help pay the bills for. In some cases, that might be because at a state level it's more difficult to identify projects that provide a benefit beyond the interests of just that state. That's reasonable and fair enough, but it obviously means that there are things that are not specifically prioritised by states but would still be very significant propositions for the national government. That's where the NAIF comes into its own, because it covers a number of states and territories.

Importantly, in this amendment bill we are seeing the inclusion of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, part of the Indian Ocean Territories, in the NAIF's remit. We certainly see that as a very sensible move and a really important opportunity for the Indian Ocean Territories. In the last parliament I served on the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories. We were due to hold a significant inquiry into communications infrastructure in the Indian Ocean Territories and on Norfolk Island. Regrettably, because of COVID, we had a few false starts in travelling there to undertake engagement, consultation and public hearings on the Indian Ocean Territories. So, regrettably, I've never visited the Indian Ocean Territories. I would love to one day, and I hope that opportunity comes my way again in either this career or another one in the future or, no doubt very happily, as a tourist when I have the opportunity in the future. The Indian Ocean Territories absolutely should be eligible for funding under the NAIF. Again, it complements the principle of us, as a Commonwealth government, identifying a role for the Commonwealth government in a direct line of infrastructure investment—in partnership with other levels of government, of course—so that we can have a focus on achieving the full potential of northern Australia.

The other major element in this bill, as has been touched on, is the increase in the quantum of funding. Again, we absolutely support that. In the last parliament we extended the time period of the NAIF, and I hope the NAIF is seen as a permanent agency, a permanent fixture. Whilst we'd love to get to the point where we believe northern Australia has had the underinvestment in its infrastructure rectified, I don't see that happening in the precious few years in which the NAIF will continue to exist. So I hope it will become an ongoing instrument through which the Commonwealth can invest in really important infrastructure projects in northern Australia.

There's a lot of opportunity in northern Australia beyond what is already occurring. Infrastructure unlocks unbelievable economic and social potential in any community, and that is particularly the case in northern Australia. I don't represent an electorate in northern Australia, obviously, but, as I've outlined, my family has a history in Northern Queensland, and I've got a great passion for the development of our country and opportunities for nation-building. I think northern Australia presents some of the greatest opportunities for nation building, and we as a parliament should be and are, through initiatives like the NAIF, understanding and identifying those opportunities. This is a good example of us working together, and I think it's commendable that we've got an opposition that is supporting the government that are equally following on from a legacy from the previous coalition government, some bipartisanship and important continuity to make sure we're achieving the full opportunity anywhere in our nation—in the case of this bill, investing in infrastructure in Northern Australia, and hence I commend it to the House.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank Minister Madeleine King for introducing this legislation and for her work advocating for northern Australia. Northern Australia is a vibrant region full of potential. It is also in my unbiased opinion one of the most beautiful places in the country. With stunning landscapes, it is a special part of the world. North Australia is my home. I was born there, it is where my family live and it is the region I have the honour of representing in this parliament as not only the member for Lingiari but also the Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia.

It is in both of these capacities that I speak in full support of these amendments—amendments which will enhance economic growth right across northern Australia and, importantly, the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) islands. In the past, northern Australia has not had the focus and attention it deserves. For a region brimming with culture, hardworking people and a rich environment, we have not seen the levels of development in the north that we deserve. The north, as we all know, is a major gateway to the Indo-Pacific. It is critical to Australia's national security and strategic outlook but also our partnership with the region. The flow of people and goods through our north is vital to our national economy, which is why the Albanese Labor government has northern Australia right at the heart of its agenda. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to date has invested over $4 billion into northern Australia. It has spurred $29.6 billion in economic benefit, and a forecasted 15,160 jobs will be created through its operation.

Turning now to my electorate of Lingiari, the NAIF has been critical to the expansion of the Humpty Doo barramundi farm, with stage 1 seeing the NAIF invest $7.2 million for ponds and nurseries in what I can attest is a fantastic barramundi farm. Stage 2 will see a further expansion of the Humpty Doo farm. This means more jobs for our region. It means a good business gets to grow even more. Another great set of projects supported by the NAIF are the developments of the Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek airports. With a $150 million loan, the Alice Springs runway will be resurfaced and a new runway light installed, with better storage at Darwin International Airport and solar arrays for Tennant Creek, Darwin and Alice Springs. This project is huge for the Territory, increasing accessibility for our domestic and international visitors, enhancing our trade capacity and boosting our tourism industry.

Another critical project is the Hudson Creek Power Station and Batchelor Solar Farm. This $74 million project will reduce the reliance on expensive gas and diesel generators and make an important contribution to enhancing the Northern Territory's renewable energy capacity. For our Indigenous tourism sector, we've seen a mammoth investment of $27.5 million into Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. This investment is set to unlock over $370 million in public benefit and greatly enhance our Indigenous tourism sector in the Territory. All of these projects contribute to the economic and social development of the Territory and would not have been possible without the NAIF.

But the NAIF is not resting on its laurels, and this government is working to make the NAIF even better. The proposed amendments will increase the NAIF appropriation by a huge $2 billion, from $5 billion to $7 billion. Something for which I applaud the minister and which I am very supportive of is adding Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to the definition of northern Australia and clarifying that the NAIF may provide financial assistance for the development of northern Australian economic infrastructure for the benefit of Indigenous persons and that that is an additional objective of the act. I cannot tell you what the impact of these changes will be for northern Australia. Firstly, with more funding, we can help more businesses, who in turn employ more workers, feed more families and keep our economy going. We're expanding the NAIF to include more of our most in-need northern Australians.

The Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are an important part of my electorate. I had the privilege of visiting the Indian Ocean Territories, and it was a fantastic visit. The sense of community and connection on the island is evident. People look out for one another but, more than that, people are always looking for new ways to better their island home. What I heard loud and clear was that Christmas Islanders felt overlooked by the previous coalition government. Well, the Albanese Labor government will not make that mistake. I was certainly happy that, when I visited the Indian Ocean Territories, we had the public infrastructure that the Public Works Committee have visited. The communities were absolutely rapt that we had the minister for territories, Kristy McBain, visit the island and meet with a number of stakeholders. I want to thank Minister McBain for her visit and for her commitment to the islands. Minister McBain gets the challenges facing the territories and, indeed, so does the Minister for Northern Australia. It's been fantastic to see that commitment from both of those ministers as they look at some of those challenges and how our government can work towards overcoming them.

We know that Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands face economic development challenges. Much of this is due to economies of scale, as well as the sheer logistical efforts in reaching the islands. Freight issues, I heard loud and clear from islanders, are particularly challenging for people on the islands, as is communication. So I'm looking forward to working with them on both the freight and the communication issues. Despite this, the island territories are both devoting considerable resources to reshaping and further developing their economies. The inclusion of the Indian Ocean Territories under the NAIF will greatly assist in this.

The inclusion of economic infrastructure that benefits Indigenous Australians as an additional objective of the act is also an important development. We know that the best way to build intergenerational and community owned wealth is through Aboriginal owned enterprise. I was very proud to attend the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation launch in Darwin and speak to the work that needs to be done to build Aboriginal businesses and expand the work of those that already exist. The changes to the NAIF Act are an important additional step which the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation needs to take up with the NAIF, and they will be of great benefit to all Indigenous people who live in northern Australia. When we lift up our most disadvantaged communities, we all get lifted up.

I conclude by saying to all those in northern Australia: the Albanese Labor government is hearing you. We are working hard to make sure that we maximise the potential of the region, particularly by further supporting our businesses and enterprises that support so many Territorians. You have a strong Labor team. Luke Gosling, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and I are all Territorians through and through. We will always stand up and advocate for the people of the Territory and make sure we get the attention that the Northern Territory deserves through all of the changes that have been made to the NAIF. I commend the bill.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I support the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023, as it makes amendments to the previous coalition government's announcement and clarifies definitions in existing powers relating to Indigenous persons. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility was an initiative of the former government, introduced in 2016 with the objective of NAIF's investments supporting the transformation of northern Australia by financing projects that generated broad basic public benefits, helping to grow the economy and population of northern Australia and catalysing private sector investment—that piece is really important—and by being an innovative financing partner.

It was another clear and direct beneficial coalition commitment to rural, regional and remote Australia. It was a $5 billion commitment originally, which is being expanded to $7 billion in this bill, as announced by the coalition in December of 2021. Of the original $5 billion committed by the coalition, $4 billion has been committed to projects financing in general. There was $2.6 billion committed for closed deals. Over 15,000 jobs and $29.6 billion in economic benefit has been forecast from this investment.

And what a successful investment it has been! The facts and results speak for themselves. NAIF has already helped to fund many projects which otherwise may have struggled to secure finance or not have been delivered at all, but they have, in actual fact, delivered exactly what NAIF was intended and set up to do by the investment from NAIF: projects in northern Australia in agriculture, tourism, varied power generation projects, port infrastructure, a ship lift—the basics—beef processing, technology, infrastructure and many others.

With the support of the former coalition government, as the Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories, I worked to have Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands included in the NAIF, which it is in this bill, and I'm very proud of that. I'll concentrate my remarks on item 4 of this legislation, which amends section 5. This amendment will enable NAIF to provide financial assistance for infrastructure that provides a basis for economic growth and/or stimulates population growth in the Indian Ocean Territories.

As the assistant minister, I was particularly focused on the need for economic diversification in the Indian Ocean Territories. There has been a historic fertiliser mining operation run by Phosphate Resources Ltd. It has underpinned the economy, local jobs and revenues for so many years. It has been the main economic activity and driver, and a very important one. As the mine comes towards the end of its productive life, it's important that both PRL and Christmas Island transition to alternative economic opportunities. I know that PRL has had a vision for its own transition post mining into alternative opportunities for the people that have worked with and for them for so long, and for the small businesses on Christmas Island. The company has a project team currently working on plans to develop and construct a resort and other facilities, which will facilitate broader regional tourism opportunities. There are also plans around a solar master plan to deliver potential food and agricultural opportunities and/or to power further accommodation and tourism options.

I know that these initiatives fit within the specific purposes of NAIF, and there may well be other potential investors with a range of projects that may seek NAIF funding also. While tourism numbers are currently limited in the Indian Ocean Territories, there are great opportunities. The island is wonderfully dominated by tropical rainforest and is 63 per cent national park. It's affectionately known as the Galapagos of the Southern Hemisphere. It is the home of unique flora and fauna, and is globally famous for its red crab migration. I am really proud that in March 2022 the coalition declared two new marine parks off the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which, together, form one of the largest highly protected marine sanctuary areas in the world. It covers 744,000 square kilometres of remote tropical ocean, reef and lagoon habitat. These parks will help protect the unique marine environments of the Indian Ocean Territories and support social and economic outcomes for local communities and other marine users, as well as supporting really tailored tourism ventures in the years ahead.

The marine environment of the IOT is known for iconic species such as whale sharks, turtles, manta rays, spinner dolphins and a vast array of seabirds. There are also lesser known but equally fascinating species, including locally evolved hybrid fish, which result from the mixing of waters from the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This unique environment is why I was exploring the opportunities around longer term research potential on Christmas Island as part of the economic diversification piece. I held a research roundtable, and there were ongoing negotiations in this space. I believe there are great opportunities there to connect local students with visiting or resident researchers, to engage them, and local residents in citizen science as well. I think it might also encourage local students to pursue higher education and possibly other university research projects themselves. We were also looking at other ways of managing some of the challenges, particularly in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, because often a lot of the plastic waste that comes through from Indonesia lands right on their doorstep.

On tourism offerings: currently locals and visitors can experience what is a magnificent marine world by either themselves or with a local tour operator—the small-business people that we're trying to encourage into diversification—whether that's scuba-diving, snorkelling, kitesurfing, kayaking, free diving or fishing. In fact, there's a wonderful social golf round that brings the community and visitors alike together, often with very entertaining results when there's special permission across the airstrip that goes with that. It's a very different offering. But it's on the back of the natural environment that there are significant opportunities for tourism development.

We know that currently the only flights to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands from Australia are the Virgin flights out of Perth that are subsidised by taxpayers. During COVID I had to make a specific arrangement with Western Australia to allow these flights to continue. There was a real need for tourism to continue to support the economic side of what was happening on the Christmas Cocos (Keeling) Islands and to not lose the tourism connection that existed there. We also provided significant funding to support locally needed projects to keep that economy ticking over and to keep locals and small businesses employed during the lockdowns and COVID management periods. In fact, between Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, we funded 23 community infrastructure and tourism promotion projects.

While I'm here, I would formally like to acknowledge the work of the emergency management teams and the AFP, who really assisted throughout COVID in the islands. They helped to keep active cases at a minimum, they managed quarantine requirements and they helped to keep local people and tourists safe. I also acknowledge the extraordinary work and commitment of the Australian Border Force, ADV Ocean Protector and ADV Ocean Shield, doing a power of work protecting our northern borders and assets as part of Operation Sovereign Borders. They are a key part of what happens in the islands. I do note that Border Force has had to deal with another asylum seeker vessel recently and the return of an increase in illegal maritime arrivals. 'There has been a sharp increase in operation tempo,' said the Operation Sovereign Borders commander at Senate estimates in February. This is, of course, as a result of Labor putting an end to temporary protection visas, which has given further encouragement to asylum seekers through this process. I want to thank Border Force for their work in that remote location.

In my visits to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands I have met tourists from all over the world. It is quite an expensive place for them to get to. There are opportunities through NAIF for the development needed in the resorts to get more tourists—the type of accommodation and opportunities that they want and need. There are some really unique offerings. I've met people from Europe who said that for them this trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the Galapagos of the Southern Hemisphere—the crab migration, the unique remote eco cabins that I saw and so many other unique and special experiences that people can have. All of these options call for further investment in either suitable resort or tourism development opportunities that really fit the NAIF criteria.

Make no mistake: there is absolutely a need for really enduring economic diversification in the Indian Ocean Territories. A key goal of NAIF's investment is to support the transformation of northern Australia by financing projects that do generate that public benefit, help to grow the economy and help to catalyse private sector investment. That's what's going to work on Christmas Island.

The population is around 1,700 people on Christmas Island and about 600 on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, with a median age of 38. What a great opportunity. One of the great challenges is that it's 1,550 kilometres from Australia, one of the most remote parts of Australia. It's why there is a real incentive here for NAIF to support tourism development and growth, particularly when there is at least one serious investor with an existing and enduring commitment to the island, its people and its businesses. In spite of the unique environment and the experiences available I have described, in many instances tourism is quite limited in its accommodation options, and particularly the options many tourists actually seeking. NAIF investment could assist in opening up current and future opportunities in the IOTs.

In the couple of minutes left, I'd just like to say that one of my favourites there is the extraordinarily large robber crab. It is a protected species. You can't in any way touch it, run over it or harvest it, for want of a better word. I had a really interesting experience in encouraging a group of about six or eight massive robber crabs to move out of the way on the road late at night when were coming back from a meeting. They understood that they had the right of way. As a dairy farmer used to herding cattle—let's put it this way—I was the one to actually encourage the big robber crabs to get off the road far enough for us to be able to travel.

I'd say to people: please take advantage of what is one of the most unique places that Australia has to offer. Through the NAIF, I am hoping, further investment and greater, more diversified economic opportunities will become available for this great community. It's such an important part of our northern security as well for our assets in the northern part of Australia. On those comments, thank you.

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

I rise to speak to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023, an important piece of legislation that will deliver more funding for infrastructure projects in northern Australia, a very good thing. Growing northern Australia's economy is a key national interest. We are a food bowl producing 94 per cent of Australia's bananas, 93 per cent of our delicious mangoes and 12.5 million cattle or up to 90 per cent of Australia's live cattle exports. The north carries Australia's mining and energy sectors with major opportunities in renewables, like solar, wind and hydrogen. The north secures our borders and serves to defend Australia and project power into the region during disasters and crises.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, NAIF, is just one way the federal government facilitates economic and population growth in northern Australia by financing infrastructure projects and helping to catalyse private sector investment, working with project partners in a range of sectors. NAIF is working with partners in the resources, energy, transport, agriculture and aquaculture, education, healthcare and tourism sectors. NAIF's role is to be an impact investor in northern Australia by facilitating its growth, accelerating projects, delivering public benefit, catalysing and crowding in private sector investment, and ensuring strong opportunities for First Nations people across the north.

Enabling legislation for NAIF passed, with Labor's support, in 2016, but honourable members may remember that we were critical in opposition of the very slow and, I would say, glacial progress that NAIF was initially making, in terms of disbursing that $5 billion to get some projects going in the north. Indeed, after four years, as of 2019, only $15 million had been spent by the NAIF on infrastructure projects in northern Australia. Millions more may have been committed but, though approved, these funds weren't being drawn fast enough.

Labor was committed to seeing NAIF delivering at pace for northern Australia in accordance with its mandate and the $5 billion appropriation. When we reached the NAIF statutory deadline in 2021 its mandate was extended to 2026 with Labor's support. In January 2022 the former government announced that NAIF's funding would be increased to keep up with the demand on the facility. I'm very pleased that we have seen a step-up in the NAIF's ability to disburse those funds. We sat at $3.5 billion last year. We've now got a decent, though not yet equal, geographical spread between the NAIF funded or co-funded projects. There was $1.1 billion invested in Western Australia, $1.2 billion in Queensland and $711 million in the Northern Territory, and in the Northern Territory we still have room to grow that.

In its latest annual report, NAIF listed a pipeline of 109 projects with a loan value of $9.3 billion. These projects were mostly in the resources and energy sector. One of them was the NT's Sun Cable project, which seeks to establish a large solar footprint in Central Australia and harvest that solar energy for use in the Territory and overseas. One of the users that's very interested is Singapore, but there's also significant interest from Indonesia. Another project was a $300-million investment in the Darwin ship lift as well as $150 million to upgrade the NT's airports in Darwin, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. There was also $151.5 million for Charles Darwin University and for the city campus. I look forward to taking part in what they call the 'topping out ceremony' for the eighth floor of that CBD campus of Charles Darwin University.

There's also been consistent funding—in smaller amounts but it's consistent and helpful—of $7.2 million and, again, $24.2 million to expand the Humpty Doo barramundi farm, which is doing a great job and growing sustainably. Altogether the NAIF is forecast to provide $2.4 billion in economic benefits. The benefits are spread far and wide with each project.

Let us consider three of these projects in more depth. I mentioned the Charles Darwin University project. This is creating an education and community precinct in the centre of our CBD. It's being conducted through the Darwin City Deal. As mentioned, $151.5 million has gone towards that overall project. The NAIF loan will support a project worth $250 million, with a total public benefit of just under $600 million over a 30-year period through increased economic activity in the CBD. Construction of that project commenced in October 2020, and it's expected to be complete in time for the 2024 academic year. The project is creating many onsite jobs and hundreds more across the supply chain through to 2024, then the jobs at the university campus itself. The precinct, once built, is expected to deliver state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities, an art gallery and a library. NAIF's loan is in addition to $97 million already committed by the Commonwealth government through the Darwin City Deal initiative.

This project provides ongoing engagement with Larrakia to collaborate on showcasing culture, adopting cultural protocols and exploring work programs. It also led to a review of the CDU reconciliation action plan and related policies and provision of appropriate cultural training for new employees. During construction, a supplier use target of three per cent for First Nations businesses was sought. CDU will also develop a First Nations procurement policy and set achievable targets within this, and it will seek to achieve a First Nations employment target of 8.8 per cent for the construction phase and promote employment and supply chain opportunities for First Nations businesses. As part of this project, CDU will seek to achieve First Nations employment of 80 full-time equivalent positions.

Another important project for my community of Solomon, the capital of the north, that is financed by NAIF is the Darwin ship lift—important for the nation, this infrastructure. The NAIF loan to the Northern Territory government is for the construction of a ship lift and associated marine infrastructure in Darwin Harbour. This project will consolidate Darwin's position as a hub for marine maintenance and servicing in northern Australia. A loan of $300 million from NAIF will go to the Northern Territory Treasury Corporation towards the overall $400 million project cost. The Northern Territory government is committed to contributing to the remaining $100 million towards the project. This ship lift will be situated on Northern Territory government land in the East Arm precinct of Darwin Harbour, and it will be operated by the Paspaley group, with a long and proud history in Darwin.

The ship lift will be 103 metres long and will be able to lift vessels up to 5,000 tonnes in weight, including our border protection vessels. The facility will include four wet berths and 20 hectares of hard stand area for repair and maintenance works. These additional facilities will reinforce our city's marine maintenance and servicing activities and create many spin-off benefits for local businesses, not to mention support to the ADF border command and our allies and regional security partners. A statutory open access and pricing arrangement will ensure common-user access to the facility for all other vessel owners and operators in the region. The ship lift will be capable of servicing large vessels from industries including coastal shipping, offshore petroleum, fishing and pearling and, as mentioned, Defence and Border Force. It will be used to lift vessels out of the water so they can be serviced, repaired or stored, including for the safety of the vessels during cyclone periods.

Darwin Harbour is the only functional deepwater harbour in northern Australia. It is our nation's fleet base north, guarding our northern approaches. Without this facility, large vessels would need to travel around 10 days or more to be serviced elsewhere, and that is a tremendous waste of time, money and fuel and underscores how important this facility is. NAIF's value-add is to provide longer term funding and flexibility around the drawdown and repayment structure of the project. This is a $300 million investment, which is forecast to deliver economic diversification, job creation, new roles for highly skilled workers and new opportunities for NT businesses.

Finally, there is the Northern Territory airports project, which takes in upgrades for the Darwin, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs airports. NAIF's loan will help expand facilities at the airports and support the development of the Territory's export potential, particularly for agricultural products. The project investments will increase the operational capacity of each of those airports, create jobs, drive new export opportunities in Asian markets, boost the Northern Territory's tourism potential and support energy security for businesses and residents in the north. The project will also improve freight, cold storage and an export/import hub at Darwin International Airport. Solar arrays will be installed at all three airports, ensuring that they have energy security, particularly when used with batteries. There is also a proposal for multi-user battery storage for Darwin. The Alice Springs airport runway, taxiways and apron will also be resurfaced, with the installation of new runway lighting.

As well as the infrastructure investments, these projects are local job creators in the construction phase and beyond. The NAIF is forecast to create over 10,000 jobs in northern Australia, with over 3,000 of those in the Northern Territory. Over 730 jobs will be created by the CDU project; over 270 with the Humpty Doo Barramundi farm; 196 jobs will be at the Hudson Creek Power Station and the Batchelor solar farm just outside of Darwin; and 80 jobs will be created in the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation. There will be many more jobs created besides those. These are transformational projects for Darwin and the Northern Territory. Education, aquaculture and defence infrastructure are really important areas of enabling infrastructure for our capital of the north. There are many more valuable projects being supported by the NAIF in Queensland and Western Australia.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility has come a very long way in the years since its inception. Committing $3.5 billion at an average of $1.1 billion a year for 20 projects, contractually closed, is a strong track record. I'm proud of the NAIF's achievements and the role that I played in getting someone from the NAIF permanently based in Darwin. We still have a lot of work to do to deliver on contracts and to draw down on those available funds. This bill is very important in that it increases by $2 billion those available funds in the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, which are going to clear the way for NAIF to keep financing hospitals, universities, silicon fertiliser mining projects, salt processing plants, power stations, solar projects, airports and so much more across northern Australia.

The bill extends the NAIF's ability to provide financial assistance to the states and territories for the development of northern Australia's economic infrastructure. That is exactly what we need to be able to contribute more to our nation. With the NAIF working with proponents and the state and territory governments, there is more to come in terms of infrastructure that drives our economy and drives jobs for Territorians. I commend the bill to the House.

Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The purpose of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023 is to increase the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility's appropriation from $5 billion to $7 billion in order to improve its provision of financial assistance to the development of northern Australian economic infrastructure. The bill clarifies that the objectives of the act include the provision of financial assistance for the development of northern Australian economic infrastructure for the benefit of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons. And it further expands the definition of the term 'northern Australia' by including Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the territorial sea adjacent to them.

The NAIF was established in 2016 to promote the construction or material enhancement of northern Australian economic infrastructure. Funded projects have to meet certain mandatory criteria. They have to provide public benefit, must be unable to get sufficient funding from commercial sources and must be able to repay their loans and recover the cost to government. The NAIF is required to comply with best-practice policies for government and for commercial financial bodies on environmental, social and governance issues.

The NAIF was initially slow to hit its straps, but its commitment of funds to low-cost loans for infrastructure projects across northern Queensland, WA and the Northern Territory has increased in the last three years. I note that in 2019 the then Labor leader, Bill Shorten, called the NAIF an abject failure. By 2020, 19 projects had been approved, for a total of $2 billion in loans, but only $130 million had actually been spent. That disbursement has now accelerated, but by early 2022 only $428 million had actually been paid out. At that stage, Labor's then shadow minister for northern Australia, Murray Watt, claimed that the NAIF was known as the 'no actual infrastructure fund' in the north.

There are persistent concerns about the NAIF as an entity and about the quality of its financial reporting. This is in contrast to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which also acts as a specialist investment vehicle of the federal government. The CEFC's financing facilities are included as part of its income statements and balance sheet, enabling its financial performance to be assessed on a comprehensive basis. In contrast, the NAIF has not been fully corporatised. It does not have a special account to receive appropriations. Its formal reporting has been limited to its own operational outcomes, making it difficult to determine exactly how its portfolio is evolving and performing. In 2019 the Auditor-General identified a concerning lack of transparency around its decisions and stated that the NAIF's internal remuneration practices were inconsistent with those of the public sector. The NAIF also has recently come under fire about its governance arrangements, given that it has a ministerial veto on projects—and I note that in May 2021 the Morrison government used that veto to block public funding of a Queensland wind farm and battery project.

The NAIF has been used for some positive projects in recent years. As we heard from the members for Solomon and Lingiari this morning, the NAIF has already been used to fund Humpty Doo Barramundi projects; improvements to the Darwin, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs airports; the Batchelor solar farm; improvements to Indigenous tourism; and structural improvements to Charles Darwin University. However, under the Morrison government the NAIF also showed itself to be very supportive of fossil fuel industries. It allotted $300 million to the Darwin ship lift and $16.8 million to the Onslow Marine Support Base. Both support the oil and gas industries. It approved $37 million for the Hudson Creek power station, a 12-megawatt capacity gas-fired power plant in Darwin. Most recently, in 2020, the NAIF was used to fund Pembroke Resources' Olive Downs metallurgical coalmine, a bigger project than Adani, which also sought funding from this fund, in 2017.

I seek from this government an assurance that this fund will not be used to further the expansion of fossil fuel projects in the Top End. I refer to the statement of former Labor leader Bill Shorten in 2019, when he said that under a Labor government up to $1.5 billion could be set aside for proposed gas pipelines across Queensland's Galilee and Bowen basins and for a pipeline connecting the Beetaloo basin to Darwin and across to the east coast. He noted then that that area had enough gas to potentially supply our domestic market for up to 400 years.

As things are, the increase in funding for the NAIF provided under this bill could be used to support Beetaloo infrastructure projects. We're hearing that the fund could be used for upgrades to roads, rail, pipelines and waste facilities to support those developments. The obvious concern is that our public funds will be used to prop up fossil fuel developments owned by Tamboran, Santos and Empire Energy, developments likely doomed to become stranded assets with the decreasing cost of energy produced from renewables.

In 2021 the Morrison government allotted grants from the $50 million Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling Program to Imperial Oil and Gas to support new exploration wells to help accelerate the development of gas projects in the Northern Territory. When that decision was challenged by the Environmental Centre NT, which argued that the minister was required to make reasonable inquiries into a range of matters before giving Imperial that taxpayer money, the question was raised of whether or not the government had to consider the impact of climate change and Australia's ability to meet its Paris Agreement obligations in undertaking funding for such projects. The court found that, in that particular case, that the minister did not have to consider the risks of climate change because the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the seven wells for which the grant was awarded were not significant due to them being solely for exploration for fracking. But the findings did enforce that federal ministers do have a legal obligation to make reasonable inquiries about the proper use of public money when making funding decisions of this sort.

This bill has clarified that the objectives of the NAIF Act include the provision of financial assistance for the development of northern Australia economic infrastructure for the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons have already expressed their concern about fossil fuel developments in the far north. These are people living in a part of Australia which is at the forefront of the impact of climate change. Recently we've seen the Tiwi Islanders successfully taking on Santos to stop gas drilling in their traditional waters. At the same time, we have seen traditional owners opposing developments in the Beetaloo basin. They have told us that that land is culturally sensitive and that it must be preserved. This flies in the face of the Albanese government's planned support for any fossil fuel companies which aim to exploit the gas basins in the Beetaloo.

In a briefing with the minister, Minister Madeleine King, on 22 March 2023, she assured me and other members of the crossbench that NAIF funding would not be used to support the Middle Arm project in Darwin harbour. I ask the government to put that assurance in writing. I ask it also to guarantee further that the NAIF will not be used to support the development of infrastructure projects in the Beetaloo basin. We will hold the Albanese government to account on these commitments.

There are incredible opportunities to fund sustainable, job-creating projects in northern Australia. Those opportunities should not be wasted on fossil fuel projects destined to become stranded assets. They should be used on renewables, on projects like the Sun Cable project—projects which really do benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. These individuals do not want thousands of fracking wells scattered across their country for gas which will be fracked and then exported for the benefit of multinationals rather than Australians. They want culturally sensitive and environmentally sound projects which will minimise rather than increasing our susceptibility to the effects of climate change. I ask the government to act with integrity and with transparency and to commit to culturally and environmentally responsible investment in this vital region.

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

I'm glad to see the minister, the member for Brand, in the chamber. I know that she is doing all she can to help northern Australia—I commend her for that—and certainly the resources sector. It is a difficult role being a Labor minister for those portfolios, particularly resources.

Only last night we saw the handing down of the budget—you'd almost argue the first budget for the member for Rankin. I appreciate he did one last October through the MYEFO process, but last night was his first real May budget. The budget last night was supposedly brought back into surplus. I say 'supposedly' because we'll believe it when we see it. If it is to be in surplus, it will have been on the back of resources. When I say it is difficult for a Labor person to be in that ministry, it is because all too often we see the resources sector, particularly gas and coal, being demonised by members opposite. More is the pity about that.

We just heard from the member for Kooyong in her own way rubbishing not just those sectors but, in doing so and through that, the people who work in those sectors, the people who put on their hard hats with the torch on the front, the people who put on the high-vis and go underground, who work hard and who, by their very zeal and their determination, efforts and hard work, getting their faces blackened with grit from the endeavour that they do, help pay for the hospitals and schools which are enjoyed by those people, particularly, in capital city electorates, who then turn around and unceremoniously bag them at every opportunity. I get a little bit frustrated by those members from capital cities who come in here and rubbish those people and those industries which have helped make this country great.

I appreciate that some on my side of politics don't like the transition to renewables. Yes, it's on its way and, yes, many of those so-called fossil fuel companies—let's call them 'mining companies'—are leading the way. They are leading the charge. They don't need to be told by the teals. They don't need to be told by Labor and certainly not by those flaming Greens that they need to transition. They're already doing it, and they're people should not be demonised. They should not be criticised for the job that they are doing, the job they did to help bring the Labor budget into surplus. That surplus is on the back of coal. That surplus is on the back of iron ore. That surplus is on the back of gas. And those industries of the mining sector in particular have been demonised for way too long by people who are educated and, quite frankly, should know better.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023 is important, and it's important to delve into a little bit of the history of the ministers for northern Australia. A quick read sees that Kep Enderby was the first such minister, as Minister for the Northern Territory. He was appointed by the Whitlam government back in 1972. He was followed by Rex Patterson and then none other than Paul Keating, who was later Treasurer and later Prime Minister. The National Country Party then had Ian Sinclair, a former leader of our party, fill this role. The role disappeared after 1993, until 2015, when one member for Kooyong—a very good member for Kooyong, and one I hope will be back as the member for Kooyong very, very soon—Josh Frydenberg, was the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia. I remember people said, 'Why would you put in Josh Frydenberg, the member for Kooyong, in urban Melbourne, as northern Australia minister?' I have to say that the Prime Minister of the day was onto something, because he knew that Mr Frydenberg was going to play a big part in this nation's future, and he still will, rest assured. Mark my words, he will be back sooner rather than later.

You need someone who is on the way up to fill this role because it is important. I like to think that the member for Brand is on the way up too. It's important that we have a good minister for northern Australia. I don't care what side of politics it is; we need somebody who is going to be prepared to speak her or his mind in this role. I commend the member for Brand for doing just that in her time thus far. But in Mr Frydenberg we had a minister who came to the role with fresh eyes. He came to the role knowing that it was going to be an important position for him—and that's why Tony Abbott put him there—for what followed later on. And, certainly, Mr Abbott was right in that appointment.

You only have to look at what northern Australia has to offer to see the unlimited potential. I heard the member for Kooyong talking about the Beetaloo basin. I went and spoke to those people who were front and centre of that proposal. Of course it needs the cultural tick-off. Of course it needs the Indigenous provisions met. Those projects always do, always have and always will, and that's important. But the Beetaloo basin and the associated roadworks that we were putting in place when I was the infrastructure minister were so important, because they were going to open up gas exploration and gas reserves that were going to really help develop the Northern Territory.

The Northern Territory is one of our best kept secrets because it has unlimited potential. That's why I worked so hard to make sure that the seat of Lingiari was preserved. The Australian Electoral Commission was going to abolish the seat of Lingiari until I stepped in and said: 'Hang on a minute. You can't have somebody in Alice Springs, somebody in Katherine or somebody in Tennant Creek having to traipse all the way up to Darwin to get representation. No, no, no, no, no. That's not fair.' Regional members deserve the very best representation. Even though Labor won the seat—and good on you, to the new member for Lingiari—I'm glad that it is its own seat, apart from the member for Solomon. When I talk about the seat of Solomon and talk about northern Australia, I will give a little shout-out to Natasha Griggs, the administrator for Australian Indian Ocean Territories, who has done a very, very good job. She was formerly the member for Solomon, and she's done a very good job in that regard.

When we talk about northern Australia, the unlimited potential there is not just in our mining endeavours but also very much in our tourism. It has huge potential. But, to that end, we also need to look after those people who have lived in those hot climes for, let's say, tens of thousands of years. I digress a little from the legislation to something no less important—Mornington Island. Kyle Yanner is the mayor there. It is in the seat of Kennedy. It does not have a swimming pool. It does not have an aquatic centre. I went there as Acting Prime Minister just before I was deposed as the Deputy Prime Minister—more's the pity. The golden age of Australian democracy, I call it. But I went there—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to 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.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to start by thanking all members of this House for their contributions to this debate, and I acknowledge the support across the Chamber for the proposed changes to the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility. I acknowledge the concerns that many members have raised. I also acknowledge the great support I've received today from the member for Riverina. He referred to the golden age of democracy when he was Deputy Prime Minister. I'm not sure if that's the case, but nonetheless I acknowledge his service in that role.

Before I go on to speak about the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023 directly, I just want to clarify something the member for Riverina mentioned about being the resources minister for a Labor government. I would point out that obviously a lot of our Labor membership is made up of workers throughout that industry right across this country. Many tens of thousands of people work in the industry and support Labor and are members of the AWU, the ETU or the AMWU. They work very hard for their families and communities across the resources sector. Also, of course, members of the Labor caucus who have worked in the industry include the member for Swan, as a mining engineer. The member for Hasluck also worked for the resources industry, and of course the member for Hunter was an underground coalminer and the member for Paterson has very close associations with coalmining in Kurri Kurri and Paterson. Of course, the former member for Brand Mr Gary Gray AO, the current ambassador to Ireland, also worked in that industry and is also a former parliamentary secretary for northern Australia. So I wouldn't want the member for Riverina or his colleagues to be confused about the Labor Party's commitment to the resources sector and the support that I enjoy within the caucus for the work we are doing with the resources sector and, of course, also for northern Australia, which is the principal matter that we're speaking on today.

The Australian government is committed to driving economic development in northern Australia. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility amendment bill will amend the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016 in order to extend the capability of the facility to provide financial assistance to the states and territories and other entities for the development of northern Australia's economic infrastructure. The amendments to the act will increase the facility's appropriation from $5 billion to $7 billion; add Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, collectively known as the Indian Ocean Territories, to the definition of northern Australia in the act; and clarify that the facility may provide financial assistance for the development of northern Australian economic infrastructure for the benefit of Indigenous persons and that this is an additional objective of the act.

By providing the facility with an additional $2 billion to provide financial assistance to businesses and communities in Australia's north, this government is demonstrating its commitment to developing the north. By extending the definition of northern Australia to the Indian Ocean Territories, this government is empowering the facility to provide financial assistance for the development of economic infrastructure that provides a basis for economic growth or stimulates population growth in the Indian Ocean territories. This government is fully committed to advancing Indigenous outcomes, and accordingly the bill clarifies this government's expectation that the facility is empowered to provide financial assistance to develop economic infrastructure for the benefit of First Nations Australians.

This government is also fully committed to transitioning Australia's energy sector to net zero by 2050 and to the reduction of Australia's emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. The facility has a key role in contributing to this objective. In December 2022, I provided the government's statement of expectations to the facility, which communicated the government's expectation that the facility would provide full support in ensuring that the goal of achieving net zero is prioritised in delivering financial assistance.

I thank all members for their contributions, and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.