Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Indeed, I thank so many members on this side of the House for their advocacy for northern Australia—the members for Durack, Solomon, Herbert, Dawson, Capricornia and Maranoa. I also thank Senator Canavan and in particular Senator Ian Macdonald for his decades long advocacy for northern Australia.

Every day this government is building a better Australia. On Monday the small business budget boost passed through the parliament. On Tuesday we secured agreement for fairer and more sustainable pensions. Yesterday we signed the historic China-Australia Free Trade Agreement that will set our country up for decades to come. Today we launched the northern Australia white paper. It is about building on the strengths of our great north for the benefit of all Australians. This is a government that does not simply talk; it delivers. Every day we deliver a strong, safe and prosperous Australia for everyone.

Northern Australia is already a very dynamic part of our economy. It is the source of some 50 per cent of our goods exports. Its great cities—Darwin, Townsville and Cairns—have grown massively over the last few decades, but we have got to do better so that every one of us here in Australia can prosper. The North needs more infrastructure, more people and better land use. That is what this white paper is all about. To that end there is the $5 billion concessional loan facility for economic infrastructure in northern Australia. There is $700 million available to upgrade roads in northern Australia, such as the Hann Highway, the Outback Way and the Tanami Road. Very importantly, there is the $200 million water infrastructure fund and that includes $5 million to further study and, hopefully get cracking with, Nullinga Dam and with Ord stage 3. For too long, this dam phobia has held back the development of agriculture in the north and elsewhere. There are trials to make better use of pastoral land and more economic use of Indigenous land, and there are visa changes to make it easier for people in the north under standard Australian wages and conditions. When the north does well, Australia does well. We are about seizing the opportunities that are within our grasp.

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