Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) commends the fantastic work that the Minister for Trade and Investment and the Government are doing to make northern Australia’s economic development a priority;

(2) notes that the Northern Australia Investment Forum, the next stepping stone in bringing Australia’s broader strengths to Northern Australia, will focus on:

(a) the important initiatives highlighted in the White Paper on Developing Northern Australia to help business capitalise on the region’s strengths by removing barriers to investment; and

(b) showcase investment opportunities on offer and in prospect in the north; and

(3) recognises:

(a) that Northern Australia accounts for a significant share of Australia’s exports with more than half of Australia’s sea exports leaving via northern ports;

(b) that the north will account for 42 per cent of the Australian economy by 2040, up from 35 per cent in 2011; and

(c) the exciting potential for increased investment, trade, infrastructure and agriculture production in the north and the job opportunities this could create.

My motion commends the fantastic work that Minister Robb and the coalition government are doing to make northern Australia's economic development policy. My motion notes that the Northern Australia Investment Forum, the next stepping stone in bringing Australia's broader strengths to northern Australia, will focus on (a) the important initiatives highlighted in the White paper on developing northern Australia to help business capitalise on the region's strengths by removing barriers to investment and (b) showcasing investment opportunities on offer and in prospect within the north.

My motion also recognises that northern Australia accounts for a significant share of Australia's exports with more than half of Australia's sea exports leaving via northern ports. My motion acknowledges that the north will account for 42 per cent of the Australian economy by 2040, up from 35 per cent in 2011. My motion recognises the exciting potential for increased investment, trade, infrastructure and agriculture production in the north and the job opportunities this could create.

Talk of developing the north of Australia has been going on for more than a century. When all is said and done, an awful lot more has been said than done. North Australia has an abundance of mineral resources. We have tens of millions of hectares of land for agricultural production and energy resources but perhaps, most importantly, we have a few hundred thousand tough, tenacious and innovative people who are ready and willing to make the most of the sometimes harsh environment that we live in. But with the best will in the world and the best resources in the world, no industry is going to thrive if it cannot get their goods to market.

North Australia needs infrastructure. We need pipes to take gas from the northern fields to the southern homes that need heating. We need roads to move livestock from the vast stations of the interior to the coast, and we need deepwater ports so that they can be loaded onto ships for export. That is why the Abbott government commissioned the north Australia white paper. The north Australia white paper is a comprehensive road map to nation building across tropical Australia.

North Australia has all the ingredients for a prosperous economy. The white paper brings those ingredients together. This is a plan to build the infrastructure that will allow industry to thrive and develop so that we all benefit. The white paper includes measures to unlock north Australia's potential across six areas: simpler land arrangements to support investment; developing water resources; growing the north as a business trade and investment gateway; investing in infrastructure to lower business and household costs;·reducing barriers to employing people; and improving governance.

This is not a document designed to sit on the shelf and gather dust; this is a plan that is already being implemented. Between the 2015 budget and the white paper launch, more than $6 billion has already been allocated to major infrastructure projects. We have a $5 billion concessional loans scheme, which will bring together private sector innovation with public sector resources to invest in the sorts of projects to grow economies; the sort of projects that create jobs.

In November, an invitation-only event will be held in my electorate in Darwin to bring together high-level decision makers to discuss north Australian investment opportunities. North Australia can offer investors what no other part of the world can: untapped resources and shovel-ready, high-performing projects, all located within a stable, First World economy. The Australian government's investments are already starting to pay off: $100 million has been allocated to upgrade northern cattle roads, $20 million to support native title bodies and $17 million to secure property rights—and the list goes on.

Within my electorate of Solomon, we are already seeing the north Australia white paper gain traction. Members of the business community whom I have met with are very excited about the possibilities. Darwin is already a key strategic link between Australia and Asia. As the north Australia economy grows, the number of goods flowing through Darwin will increase.

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