David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I find it quite extraordinary that one of the first acts of this new government in this new parliament is to abolish the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia, disenfranchising 1.3 million Australians. Their voice to this parliament is being removed through a bipartisan committee that was about the growth of northern Australia, where we have an extra $2 billion investment pipeline through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund, taking it to a $7 billion investment pipeline, because there is investment confidence in northern Australia. But the investment signals on northern Australia to take away from this government today are that they aren't interested in them anymore. Every Australian should have the opportunity to have their voice heard in this parliament through important committee work, and this government, which trumpeted that it would govern for every Australian, has now turned its back on 1.3 million Australians. But, more importantly, they have turned their backs on over 200,000 First Nations people who have the opportunity to develop their country, to develop northern Australia, to take northern Australia to a level we have not seen before. So I say to those opposite: you have to govern for every Australian. The opportunity not just for northern Australia but for this great country is in the north. You should remember that, and you should engage that in a constructive way.

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