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

A hypothetical senator who is making a point saying that we should somehow send all the money out on day one is the reason the Australian people do not trust the Labor Party with money. What happens, of course, is that money is provided to projects as milestones are met. When you are building a house, when the slab goes down, the builder gets a bit of money; when the frame goes up, he gets a bit more; when the roof goes on, he gets a little more. That is what is going to happen with this $1½ billion we are investing in northern Australia to get economic activity going. That is actually going to create 4,000 jobs in total; I was underestimating it before. That is 4,000 jobs over the next few years because we are taking the decision to develop our nation—to invest in parts of our country that are not as developed as the rest of the country but have huge opportunity. That is why I am very, very happy to see the progress that we have made over the last year. More importantly, jobs will be created in the years to come from these investments in remote parts of our country.