Chris Ketter (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I take this opportunity to voice my ongoing concerns about the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. The Turnbull government has a very poor record when it comes to North Queensland. We know that when it came to the northern Australia statement last year, the then minister, Minister Joyce, couldn't be bothered to deliver that particular statement on time. All the stakeholders had come to Parliament House on the expected day, and yet Minister Joyce wasn't the one to provide the statement; it was done by the South Australian member for Sturt, who snuck it into the House of Representatives by tabling it and hoping that nobody would notice that it was late. Now they're also dragging their heels on improving insurance outcomes for disaster-affected areas in North Queensland, hiding behind a three-year ACCC inquiry. Also of great concern to me—and I discussed this in my adjournment contribution last night—is that they're apparently pulling out of the National Partnership on Remote Indigenous Housing funding. This is of great concern.

We know that Mr Turnbull's own backbenchers understand that he's out of touch with the north. We have Townsville based Senator Ian Macdonald telling Sky News:

There's no doubt about it—Malcolm is not seen as representing people in northern and regional Queensland.

That's a quote from November last year. The member for Flynn, Mr O'Dowd, has also said:

We're becoming, in the eyes of the public, more city-oriented than rural and regional.

But there's no greater indictment of the Turnbull government's contempt for North Queensland than the absolute joke of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. There is $5 billion sitting there and a commitment, but it's yet to deliver a single project or a single job for Queensland. The shadow minister for northern Australia, Mr Clare, has said, tongue-in-cheek, that, at this current rate, it would take the federal government 856 years to spend the $5 billion NAIF fund. Let's recap that there is an apparent, but still only theoretical, potential for a NAIF for Queensland. This means that people in places like Gladstone, Emerald, Mount Isa, Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay, Cairns and Cape York Peninsula are all missing out on the jobs and infrastructure which could come from that fund being used properly.

Let's run through the federal representatives that cover those areas: Mr Entsch, the member for Leichhardt, from the Liberal Party; Mr Katter, the member for Kennedy—and I would be interested in his thoughts on the NAIF; Cathy O'Toole, the federal member for Herbert—and, as a Labor colleague, I know that she's been calling for NAIF funding to address water and energy issues in her electorate, to no avail; Mr Christensen from the Liberal Party in Dawson; Ms Landry in Capricornia for the National Party; Mr Littleproud in Maranoa for the National Party; and Mr O'Dowd in Flynn for the National Party. This list really says it all. I ask: if the LNP members are happy to unite as 'team Queensland' to lobby the Prime Minister on the Land 400 contract, when will they join forces to lobby him for results from the NAIF?

I note from the Gladstone Observer on 6 February the list of priorities that the member for Flynn has indicated. Flynn is one of my duty electorates, so I take a special interest. Mr O'Dowd has said that he will fight for a number of issues in his electorate: inland rail, free trade agreements and a new coal-fired power station. That's as much as I would say about Mr O'Dowd. There is no position on the NAIF and what needs to happen there. This is despite the fact that infrastructure projects based within his electorate would be eligible to apply. I, for one, would love to hear Mr O'Dowd's position on the NAIF and perhaps I'll read about it in the Observer soon.

Then we come to Senator Canavan, the so-called minister for northern Australia, who appears to be using NAIF as his personal plaything, apparently putting his mates on the board and using the NAIF to pick fights with the Queensland government. He's talked up its potential for almost three years in this place whilst it delivers absolutely nothing for his home state. I'm sure that he is somewhat embarrassed by that. It's time for Senator Canavan to stump up for Queensland.

Labor has had concerns about the NAIF and how it operates from the beginning. There have been unexplained conflicts of interest held by board members, issues of lack of transparency, poor governance measures and unreasonable delays in funding projects. On the economics committee, we had a hearing in Cairns, and I must say the CEO made a very difficult job of explaining some very basic concepts. We'll not let this issue drop.