Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Northern Territory is a wonderful gem that Territorians know is one of the best kept secrets in Australia. We have vast quantities of natural resources, stunning scenery, world-class fishing, a very unique lifestyle and much more. While we have successfully developed many aspects of the Territory, such as the cattle industry, tourism, agriculture and mining, industries are limited by our small population. That limits our capacity to fully realise our potential. Further inhibiting our capacity for growth was the arrival of a man-made disaster of epic proportions. In August 2016, an unseasonal dark cloud loomed upon the horizon in the Northern Territory. That menacing, sinister cloud grew and grew until even those who had invoked the cloud could no longer deny the rotting, all-pervading odour of another failing Labor government.

Responsible fiscal management is a concept that Chief Minister Michael Gunner and his Treasurer, Nicole Manison, have consistently failed to demonstrate. Indeed, by their actions, the Gunner government have a proven desire to not adhere to basic principles such as living within your means. This is a familiar story of Labor governments in Australia. Not even the unprecedented magnitude of wanton waste has come as a surprise on this occasion. What is different about this most disastrous of Labor governments is the catastrophic effect on the economy of the Northern Territory. There are plummeting levels of investor confidence, business confidence and consumer confidence. The tremendously high number of small and medium businesses that have been forced to close in the past two years is another record the Gunner government can hang it shabby hat on. How proud they must be of their workers' party in the face of rising unemployment, a contracting population and out-of-control debt that they have created. Oh, how they must lament the fact that hypocrisy is not a currency they can spend.

I am, in equal measure, both relieved and pleased to report there is a small sliver of blue sky appearing on the economic horizon in the Northern Territory. That glimmer of hope is the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. While the inept duo of Chief Minister Michael Gunner and Treasurer Manison grope for solutions they are incapable of grasping, NAIF lowers the hand of optimism to the NT well of economic despair. Let me assure you, the presence of NAIF in the Northern Territory has the undivided attention of all major businesses.

What does NAIF mean to us in the north? To date, there have been $345 million in approved loans in the Northern Territory. To date, NAIF has delivered to the NT economy $27.5 million for the Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia group. This project provided an airport runway, upgrades to the taxiway and apron and the installation of runway lighting to help generate $370 million of benefits to the wider community over 20 years. Eighty construction workers were employed in this project and there are 320 ongoing jobs directly related to this NAIF project. Let me put that in some perspective for you. Three hundred and twenty jobs is approximately equivalent to 0.15 per cent of our population. If this project were in Queensland, it would equal 650,000 jobs. That's the significance of this project to the Northern Territory.

Humpty Doo Barramundi is another NAIF success story. The $7.18 million project saw the construction of a solar farm and fish nursery and the purchase of processing equipment that has allowed this business to grow, with thirteen construction jobs and seven ongoing jobs. This successful NAIF project is precisely the kind of project that reignites confidence in the business community. Again let me put that into perspective: that would equate to 14,000 jobs in Queensland.

There is more to come, with the recent announcement of NAIF funding for a Country Liberal Party project at the Darwin airport. An expansion project for NT Airports will see $150 million invested into augmentation of existing onsite power generation and construction of a coolroom facility that will permit better care and handling of our high-quality agricultural produce. Estimated to support 1,000 construction jobs, 500 indirect jobs and 140 ongoing jobs, this project will be a game-changer. Once again, all eyes from the business community in the NT are watching.

Another Country Liberal Party project is the proposed ship-lift facility in Darwin. The calamitous duo of Chief Minister Gunner and Treasurer Manison are hanging all their hopes for political survival on NAIF to deliver this project through a $300 million loan. At a time when the business community holds record-low confidence in the Northern Territory economy, the boost that such a project could provide is considerable. Chief Minister Michael Gunner knows this and is busy extolling the benefits of the project. That's right, even the worst government in Australia—as noted by Prime Minister Morrison—loves NAIF. Indeed, this is what the Northern Territory government says about NAIF:

The Territory has experienced a constructive relationship with NAIF to date, and has found it to be generally flexible and responsive in the handling of Territory related applications.

That is endorsement from the Northern Territory Labor government, not condemnation. The worst government in Australia gave NAIF a glowing report. Even an inept Labor government acknowledges the benefits of NAIF.

There are many more projects for the NT submitted to NAIF, and there are more applications to come in as business and governments understand the benefits and potential. There's $345 million already approved for the NT alone—not the $44 million our colleagues across the room would have you believe—with much more to come. We in the north know NAIF is working and delivering, and it will continue to provide vital funding for essential projects.

For the record, Senator Watt, I did not discourage or say there was no point in the Prime Minister visiting the Northern Territory. I questioned what specifically the detractors in the NT News would like him to come and see, and they could not tell me. We do not need the Prime Minister to physically set foot in the Northern Territory every five minutes for him to know what is going on and what is needed. With the funding through Infrastructure—$184 million announced this week—and NAIF projects, he knows what's needed and he's delivering it. He does not need to physically pop in every five minutes for a cup of tea.