Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stoker for her question and her interest in the development of northern Australia, particularly North Queensland in her home state. It's been just over three years now since the government announced the first white paper to develop northern Australia in our nation's history. Tonight I will join a function of more than 150 people from northern Australia here at Parliament House to recognise the annual statement that is made to parliament around the development of northern Australia. It's important to remember this is a 20-year plan. We have a 20-year plan to develop northern Australia, and we need to keep the pace going. We need to have persistence to see this plan through and to develop opportunities for all Australians but, of course, particularly those Australians that live in the 40 per cent of Australia that makes up northern Australia.

Since announcing that white paper just over three years ago, we have provided $700 million for roads right across northern Australia. That includes 37 projects, 32 of which are complete, underway or fully approved. We have put aside more than $200 million to develop water infrastructure across northern Australia, including $176 million for the Rookwood Weir in Central Queensland, as well as 15 other feasibility studies, nine of which are complete. The CRC funding innovative research in food, agriculture and tropical health in northern Australia has also been established; there is $75 million towards it. Overall, 38 of the 51 measures that were in the white paper three years ago are now complete, and the rest are continuing to be underway and moving towards completion.

As I said, this is a decades-long nation-building plan for our country. The key thing now is that we do get buy-in from all sides of politics and from state and territory governments to continue to push forward with the development of our nation, not just for the people of northern Australia but so that all Australians can benefit from the development of Australia and more economic opportunity therein.