Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Like many others, I have a number of concerns about the Infrastructure Australia Amendment Bill 2013 as it stands. The original intention of the bill was to provide Infrastructure Australia with greater autonomy, but the impact of the bill as drafted gives the minister far more control over the organisation's operations and reporting requirements than is appropriate.

I think it is important to acknowledge that the government appears to have taken these concerns on board and has circulated amendments to address them. In particular, the amendments will remove that part of the bill which would have given the minister the power to declare certain types of projects off limits for consideration by Infrastructure Australia—and I think it was quite outrageous that that was ever in the bill in the first place. The amendments will also remove that part of the bill which would have given the minister the power to direct Infrastructure Australia in relation to the publication of information. While I acknowledge that this was intended as a positive power to allow the minister to require information to be published, I believe it is too open to abuse. I welcome the government's decision to remove this provision and I will be supporting the government's amendment in that regard. I think it improves the bill.

However, I also believe that the amendments proposed by the opposition and the Australian Greens would improve the bill much further. In particular, I believe the requirement for the publication of cost-benefit analyses is very important. We have a duty to the Australian public to ensure that taxpayer funds are used efficiently and to the greatest benefit of the public. This amendment adds an extra layer of transparency and accountability. I will also support the opposition's amendment on 'nationally significant infrastructure'. I believe this is an important consideration when funding projects at a Commonwealth level and I support its inclusion in the bill. I also support the Australian Greens amendments on sustainability factors and public consultation. Both of these are vitally important considerations in the use of taxpayer funds and the quality and type of projects to be approved.

In addition, I will also be supporting the Australian Greens amendment on Infrastructure Australia providing advice on climate change issues that impact on infrastructure projects. There is no harm in doing so and I think it is particularly important in the context of Australia reaching its greenhouse gas abatement targets. Climate change is a very significant challenge. We need comprehensive strategies to address it across all portfolios of government. Taking into account carbon emissions, renewable energy and resource conservation must become part of policy on all levels.

I support the government's aim to increase infrastructure funding through changes to Infrastructure Australia. These projects are vitally important for Australian jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Without support, and with the added burden of the closure of Holden, Ford and Toyota as automotive manufacturers in Australia, we are at real risk of causing a huge chasm in Australian manufacturing. The former Prime Minister's Taskforce on Manufacturing, in its August 2012 report, estimated that 950,000 people were employed in the sector and that it contributed eight per cent of GDP directly. That did not include the significant amount it contributes indirectly through flow-on effects to other businesses. It also contributed 29 per cent of Australia's exports, despite the high dollar.

But the report also stated that, over the four years prior, over 100,000 jobs had disappeared from manufacturing. The report also estimated that another 85,600 jobs, at a minimum, would be lost in the five years following the publication of the report. That figure could well be significantly higher now, given that Ford, Holden and Toyota are planning to exit Australia by no later than the end of 2017—in Ford's case, they are planning to leave in 2016. If we lose our manufacturing sector, we will be at a global disadvantage. We will lose not only tens of thousands of jobs but also our self-sufficiency. That is why government supported infrastructure projects will need to play a vital role in supporting Australian manufacturing jobs and building the productive capacity of the nation. Unless it can operate independently and appropriately, Infrastructure Australia will not be able to play the role we so desperately need it to play.

In summary, I support the bill—provided a number of amendments are passed to improve it significantly. In the absence of those amendments, the bill is fundamentally flawed. The amendments proposed by the opposition and the Greens are also, I think, worthy of support. I look forward to these amendments being debated further in the committee stage.