Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to add my support to the member for Solomon's motion and to commend the Minister for Trade and Investment for his tireless efforts in this area.

The Northern Australia Investment Forum will be held in Darwin from 8-10 November. It will focus on attracting investors and exposing them to opportunities in the north, supported by the publication of an investor-ready project. I am aware of many projects that will be put forward at that time, and there is a great deal of enthusiasm for participation in that event. As I have said before, the white paper on developing northern Australia is all about government being an enabler, attracting investment and promoting the right investment conditions for projects to get off the ground, independent of financial support from government.

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is another key measure. It is a central part of the government's work to build a strong, prosperous economy. Together with Australia's free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea, the China FTA will set our country up for long-term prosperity. These three agreements will create thousands of jobs, make households close to $4,500 better off, and boost GDP by an estimated $24.4 billion between 2016 and 2035.

Today I am pleased to provide an update on some of the key measures of the northern Australia white paper. The $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility opened on 1 July. Criteria are being finalised by Treasury, covering geographic eligibility, the types of infrastructure able to be supported and financial criteria to be met. Draft criteria will be released soon for consultation with relevant interested parties. Discussions are underway with the Northern Territory and Queensland governments to start the pre-feasibility of the Mount Isa to Tennant Creek railway, and looking at feasibility for the upgrade from Mount Isa through to Townsville port for that rail system.

There is a significant number of other projects that I am aware of, with proponents that are very keen to participate in this fund. There is the $600 million northern Australia roads package; submissions from Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia will be invited from later this month. There is the $100 million 'beef roads' investment; the first industry forum will be held in Rockhampton at the start of October. Priorities are expected to be finalised in early 2016.

There are the pilot land reform projects in the north; the Attorney-General working group has been established and they will be inviting applications for funding in late 2015, with more efficient native title processes progressing through the COAG Indigenous land review. There will be options to use exclusive native title rights for commercial purposes.

The Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce is on track to report back in November. And we would expect to see some significant positive outcomes there in dealing with the current crisis that we have.

The design and implementation plan for the $500 million Water Infrastructure Development Fund is in the process of being signed off. We are on track to begin our feasibility assessment of Nullinga Dam in Queensland and the Ord stage 3 in Western Australia. Discussion has started with the Queensland government, and more updates are expected in the coming months. Work is also progressing with the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia's inquiry into developing aquaculture opportunities in northern Australia. There is a huge opportunity for the expansion of Australia's aquaculture industry.

There are some great opportunities in this area, and we look forward to a hearing in Canberra tomorrow night with the Departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Environment, and CSIRO. So I look forward to giving updates in the future about these magnificent opportunities for northern Australia.

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