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

by leave—I am very proud as the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia to present this first report on our progress implementing the white paper on developing northern Australia: Our North, Our Future.

Our great nation is a country of contrasts and diversity, and this government is determined to ensure we reach the full potential inherent in all parts of Australia. Our northern development agenda is a nation-building agenda. Northern Australia is already an economic powerhouse for Australia. Our government believes that the North's proximity to world economic growth has created an unprecedented opportunity to invest in the North, and by doing so make returns for all Australians. That is why we have released the first ever white paper to develop northern Australia.

While I have the great honour of delivering this first update, I only have that honour thanks to the drive and determination of others. I especially want to credit Senator Ian Macdonald, who is here in the chamber at the moment, for his tireless and successful efforts to put northern development on the nation's agenda. Also to Mr Warren Entsch and the members of his parliamentary committee whose report, Pivot North, helped guide the policies in our white paper.

Today I want to talk mainly about what we are doing because we have made significant achievements over the past year and the people of the North want action not just talk. Twenty-one of our policy initiatives are complete and much progress has been made on others. We are taking action and we are on track.

I am pleased to report we are building roads and major economic infrastructure in the North. Our plan helps the North unlock its inherent advantages in land, water and people by building infrastructure and supporting business development. On launching the white paper last year we announced more than $6 billion worth of investment. Over the past year we have begun allocating that to specific projects that have begun. We have announced funding for projects worth more than $350 million as part of the Northern Australia Roads Program. This includes investments to better connect Kununurra to its closest port at Wyndham, which will help support the development of the Ord irrigation scheme and also help to facilitate more than $1 billion worth of proposed investments in aquaculture in the Northern Territory nearby. Other road projects include upgrading the Barkly, Flinders and Capricorn highways in Queensland—key freight routes linking important inland resources and agriculture areas with coastal ports; sealing the Hann Highway in Queensland to create a more reliable inland route from Cairns to Melbourne; realignment at Coongan Gorge on the Marble Bar Road in Western Australia; and flood immunity improvements at the Adelaide River Floodplain on the Arnhem Highway in the Northern Territory. We have announced that we will continue the sealing of the Outback Way, which runs from Winton in Queensland to Laverton in Western Australia, to help establish another east-west link across our nation. We do need to begin thinking more 'east-west', not just 'north-south' when we develop our country.

We have been working hard to identify investment priorities to improve the northern beef industry's productivity and resilience through the $100 million Northern Australia Beef Roads Program, with three successful round table meetings of key representatives from the cattle and transport industries in Rockhampton, Kununurra and Darwin. Sixty per cent of Australia's rainfall falls on the 40 per cent of our land mass that represents northern Australia. Yet only around two per cent of that water is used at the moment. We have a great opportunity to expand food production in Australia and that opportunity will be concentrated in the North, given that many of the more fertile areas in southern Australia have already been developed. That is why we have committed $174 million already to specific water projects in the North. This includes $130 million to co-fund the Rookwood Weir on the Fitzroy River, a project that could kick-start an agricultural boom in Central Queensland in a water catchment that is the second largest in Australia, behind only the Murray-Darling. The CSIRO is leading work on foundational land and water resources assessments in the Mitchell River catchment in Queensland, in the Fitzroy River catchment in Western Australia, and in the Darwin region in the Northern Territory. This follows assessments completed on the North Queensland rivers Flinders and Gilbert in 2014.

This government's direct investments in infrastructure in the North will be complemented through the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. I recently launched that facility in Cairns a couple of months ago. The board held its second meeting in Western Australia just last week. The NAIF is one of the white paper's long term initiatives and it is now open for business. The NAIF will offer up to $5 billion in concessional finance to encourage and complement private sector investment across northern Australia. The independent NAIF board is responsible for implementing the mandate that we have given them. The board is chaired by Ms Sharon Warburton, who is joined by six other directors with extensive experience across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, government, finance, construction and law. So far, the NAIF has received numerous applications, and of these, one project is already undertaking due diligence and another 13 are working towards a formal investment proposal. These projects already represent a total investment of over $10 billion. Earlier today I announced the appointment of Ms Laurie Walker as CEO of the NAIF. Ms Walker is highly experienced. She understands the challenges facing infrastructure investment in this country. She will relocate and live in the Cairns region for this role. She will be based at the NAIF headquarters in Cairns and we are brining a whole new industry to North Queensland by doing so.

Along with the NAIF we are working hard to attract interest in the North from major investors. Last year we held the first Northern Australian Economic Forum in Darwin. The forum opened a window on the scope and scale of opportunities for investment, particularly in agribusiness and food, resources and energy, infrastructure, tropical medicine and education. Since the forum, several international investors have made return on-site visits.

Northern Australia's unique position also gives it advantages when it comes to education and research. We are investing $75 million in a Cooperative Research Centre to conduct research and development with a focus on agriculture, food and tropical medicine. The government will provide $2 million over the next two years for the Tropical Disease Research Regional Collaboration Initiative. Just last Friday, we announced that Darwin's Menzies School of Health Research has been selected to advance research into the prevention, detection and treatment of multi-drug resistant malaria and TB.

The north will only truly achieve its true potential with the participation of all its people, including Indigenous Australians. Northern Australia is home to 30 per cent of Australia's Indigenous population. So any plan to develop the North must involve our first Australians. The government is supporting a number of land tenure pilots that broaden economic activity on land and demonstrate the benefits of reform to investors, Indigenous peoples and other stakeholders. Five pilot projects across the three northern jurisdictions have already been funded. We have also invested $12.4 million in an Indigenous ranger program for the North.

Tourism is a strong industry for northern Australia and it is experiencing a resurgence thanks to a lower dollar and more flights to Asia. We have established a $13.6 million Northern Australia Tourism Initiative to help small and medium businesses in the tourism sector take their next steps in their business development.

With the release of the white paper, the government made a real commitment towards developing northern Australia, and since that time we have developed further our policies for the north. Our first ever City Deal will be in Townsville, the biggest city in northern Australia. We have announced $100 million for more research into exploration for minerals and resources in northern Australia. This is of special importance given that the economy of northern Australia is more than half made up by our resources sector.

These investments we are making are building on an already successful, thriving and productive northern Australia. Too often people assume that northern development has failed in the past. That is bunkum. Cairns, Darwin, Townsville, Kununurra, Broome, Mackay, Rockhampton and the regions in between are all testament to the development we have already made in the north. As a nation, we should be proud of this progress, because we benefit from what we have already achieved there. Around five per cent of our population live in the north, but it generates nearly 12 per cent of our economic output. Our plan builds on this success and re-invests in a part of our nation that is already punching above its economic weight.

More than in the past, northern Australia now has the proximity to economic growth that creates opportunity for even bigger things for our north. By 2030, more than two-thirds of the world's middle class will be in Asia. This growth in our region promises to deliver dividends for all Australians. More than half of our exports leave from ports in northern Australia. We all have a stake in seeing the successful development of the North.

Our northern policy is an unashamedly regional development policy. Through developing the regions of our north, we can take pressure off the development of our major southern cities, while giving young Australians new opportunities for making a living and raising a family in northern Australia. The success of our policy will not be delivered by the government here in Canberra alone but by the people who live and work in northern Australia. Our policies aim to attract investment, invest in infrastructure and unlock the potential of the north's abundant land and water resources. It will be the dynamic people of northern Australia that create jobs, found businesses, start families and nurture their communities. As a government we can only create the foundation. It will be the more than one million people of northern Australia who build the house.

That is our vision for northern Australia—that, through our focus and our policies, we provide the tools to our north to make it a magnet for the entire country. Our goal is that, in the future, people will be attracted to stay in northern Australia and to move to northern Australia because of the opportunity that it manifestly presents. If we are successful at that, it will benefit all Australians.

We have made a good start, but there is much more to do. I thank the people of northern Australia for their continuing support and involvement in this nation-building endeavour. The white paper is the catalyst to help build the foundations to make the most of that hardworking, determined and optimistic outlook, which will ultimately enhance the north. All Australians will be more prosperous as a result.

I table the ministerial statement and seek leave to incorporate it in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

I'm very proud as the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia to give this first report on our progress implementing the White Paper on Developing Northern Australia: Our North, Our Future.

Our great nation is a country of contrasts and diversity, and this Government is determined to ensure we reach the full potential inherent in all parts of Australia. Our northern development agenda is a nation building project.

Northern Australia is already an economic powerhouse for Australia. Our Government believes that the north's proximity to world economic growth has created an unprecedented opportunity to invest in the north, and by doing so make returns for all Australians. That is why we have released the first ever White Paper to develop Northern Australia.

While I have the great honour of delivering this first update, I only have that honour thanks to the drive and determination of others. I especially want to credit Senator Ian Macdonald for his tireless and successful efforts to put northern development on the nation's agenda. Also to Warren Entsch and the members of his Parliamentary Committee whose report, Pivot North helped guide the policies in our White Paper.

Today I want to talk mainly about what we are doing because we have made significant achievements and the people of the north want action not just talk. Twenty-one of our policy initiatives are complete and much progress has been made on many others. We are taking action and we are on track.

I am pleased to report we are building roads and major economic infrastructure in the north. Our plan helps the north unlock its inherent advantages in land, water and people by building infrastructure and supporting business development.

On launching the White Paper last year we announced more than $6 billion worth of investment. Over the past year we have begun allocating that to specific projects that have begun.

We have announced funding for specific projects worth more than $350 million as part of the Northern Australia Roads Programme. This includes road investments to better connect Kununurra to its closest port at Wyndham, supporting the Ord irrigation scheme and helping to facilitate more than $1 billion worth of investments in aquaculture in the Northern Territory.

Other road projects include upgrading the Barkly, Flinders and Capricorn Highways in Queensland —key freight routes linking important inland resources and agriculture areas with coastal ports; sealing the Hann Highway in Queensland to create a more reliable inland route from Cairns to Melbourne; realignment at Coongan Gorge on the Marble Bar Road in Western Australia; and flood immunity improvements at the Adelaide River Floodplain on the Arnhem Highway in the Northern Territory.

We have announced that we will continue the sealing of the Outback Way which runs from Winton in Queensland to Laverton in Western Australia, establishing an east-west link across our nation. This decision is emblematic of our need to think more "east-west" while developing the north, not just "north-south".

We've been working hard to identify investment priorities to improve the northern beef industry's productivity and resilience through the $100 million Northern Australia Beef Roads Programme, with three successful round table meetings of key representatives from the cattle and transport industries in Rockhampton, Kununurra and Darwin.

The CSIRO's innovative Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool, TraNSIT, has modelled more than 60 proposals submitted by stakeholders. I am looking forward to the announcement of successful projects very shortly.

Sixty per cent of Australia's rainfall falls on the 40 per cent of our land mass that represents northern Australia. Yet only around 2 per cent of that water is used at the moment. We have a great opportunity to expand food production in Australia and that opportunity will be concentrated in the north, given that many of the more fertile areas in southern Australia have already been developed.

That is why we have committed $174 million to invest in specific water projects in the north. This includes our 2016 election commitment of $130 million to co-fund the building of the Rookwood Weir on the Fitzroy River, a project that could kick-start an agricultural boom in Central Queensland in a water catchment that is the second largest in Australia - behind only the Murray-Darling.

We have committed other funding towards the planning that is needed to build more water investments. This includes the Lakelands Irrigation project, the Nullinga Dam near Cairns, the Hells Gate Dam and Burdekin Falls Dam wall raising near Townsville and Urannah Dam. It also covers funding to explore water development options in the Northern Territory and expansion of the Ord scheme through the raising of the Lake Argyle spillway and development of irrigated agriculture on the Keep River plain.

The CSIRO is leading work on foundational land and water resources assessments in the Mitchell River catchment in Queensland, in the Fitzroy River catchment in Western Australia, and in the Darwin region using $15 million from the Australian Government. This follows assessments completed on North Queensland's Flinders and Gilbert Rivers in 2014.

This Government's direct investments in infrastructure in the north will be complemented through the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. I recently had the pleasure of formally launching the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, or NAIF, in Cairns, coinciding with the first meeting of the NAIF Board. The Board held its second meeting in Western Australia just last week.

The NAIF is one of the White Paper's long term initiatives and it's now open for business.

The NAIF will offer up to $5 billion in concessional finance to encourage and complement private sector investment in economic infrastructure that benefits northern Australia. Investment will be spread across the three jurisdictions in northern Australia.

The independent NAIF Board is responsible for determining eligibility of projects under the NAIF, guided by an Investment Mandate.

The board is chaired by Ms Sharon Warburton, who is joined by six other directors with extensive experience and expertise across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, government, finance, construction and law, and who are passionate about the development of northern Australia.

So far, the NAIF has received numerous enquiries about project funding, and of these, one project is undertaking due diligence and another 13 working towards a formal investment proposal. These projects represent a total investment of over $10 billion.

Not all will receive assistance, so I encourage others to bring forward their ideas for vital Northern Australia infrastructure projects.

It was also my pleasure earlier today to announce the appointment of Ms Laurie Walker as CEO of the NAIF. Ms Walker is highly experienced, with key leadership experience in banking and finance organisations including ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank.

Ms Walker understands the challenges facing infrastructure investment and is committed to supporting economic growth across northern Australia. She will relocate and live in the Cairns region for this role. She will be based at the NAIF headquarters in Cairns but will work with stakeholders across the north.

Along with the NAIF we are working to attract interest in the north from major investors. Last year we held the first Northern Australian Economic Forum in Darwin. The forum opened a window on the scope and scale of opportunities for investment, particularly in agribusiness and food, resources and energy, infrastructure, tropical medicine and education – all areas where Australia can excel.

Since the forum, several international investors have made return on-site visits.

We have established a Major Projects Approval Agency in Darwin to create a 'single point of entry' for investors dealing with regulatory requirements. We have also shifted the Office of Northern Australia from Canberra to Darwin.

The Australian Government is committed to advancing research and science in Australia and bolstering our health security.

Northern Australia's unique position also gives it natural advantages when it comes to education and research. We are investing $75 million in a Cooperative Research Centre to conduct research and development with a focus on agriculture, food and tropical medicine. The CRC will be based in Townsville and further details about its governance will be released shortly.

The Government will provide $2 million over two years for the Tropical Disease Research Regional Collaboration Initiative. Just last Friday, we announced that Darwin's Menzies School of Health Research has been selected to advance research into the prevention, detection and treatment of multi-drug resistant malaria and TB. The Menzies School will work with the Burnet Institute as well as partners in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

The north will only truly achieve its potential with the participation of all its people, including Indigenous Australians. Northern Australia is home to 30 per cent of Australia's Indigenous population. So any plan to develop the north must also create opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

The Government is supporting a small number of land tenure pilots that broaden economic activity on land and demonstrate the benefits of reform to investors, Indigenous peoples and other stakeholders. Five pilot projects across the three northern jurisdictions have already been funded.

We have also invested $12.4 million in an Indigenous Ranger program for the north.

Tourism is a strong industry for northern Australia and it is experiencing a resurgence thanks to a lower dollar and more flights to Asia. We have established a new $13.6 million Northern Australia Tourism Initiative under the Entrepreneurs' Programme to help small and medium businesses in the tourism sector take the next step in their business plans.

Northern Australia is also important to the ongoing development of our defence partnerships. Military exchanges and postings between Singapore and Australia are important to both nations and to the local economies of the north.

In May 2016 the Government announced Australia and Singapore will jointly develop military training areas and facilities in Australia, enhancing Singapore's training opportunities.

The total outlay from Singapore is up to $2.25 billion, with approximately $1 billion to be invested at each Shoalwater Bay Training Area and the Townsville Field Training Area and environs.

Changes to Australia's Work and Holiday visas are also helping the tourism, hospitality and agriculture industries in northern Australia achieve greater access to work and holiday visa holders, thus reducing labour shortages and the cost of seasonal labour in northern Australia.

With the release of the White Paper the Government made a real commitment towards developing northern Australia; and since that time we have developed further our policies for the north.

The Government's first ever City Deal under its Smart Cities Plan has been announced with Townsville, the largest city in northern Australia.

We have also announced $100 million to increase exploration for minerals and resources in northern Australia. Geoscience Australia estimates that around 80 per cent of Australia remains under-explored for minerals and most of this in northern Australia.

This is of special importance for the north given that more than 50 per cent of its economic output is thanks to the resources sector. We need a strong mining sector for a strong northern Australia.

These investments we are making are building on an already successful, thriving and productive northern Australia. Too often people assume that northern development has failed in the past. That is bunkum. Cairns, Darwin, Townsville, Kununurra, Broome, Mackay, Rockhampton and the regions in between are all testament to what we have already built in the north.

As a nation we should be proud of this progress because we benefit from what has already been achieved. The north is home to just over 5 per cent of our population but accounts for almost 12 per cent of our economic output.

Our plan builds on this success, and re-invests in a part of our nation that is already punching above its economic weight.

More than in the past, however, northern Australia now has the proximity to economic growth that creates opportunity for even bigger things for our north.

By 2030 more than two-thirds of the world's middle class will be in Asia. And, even more relevant for the north, the percentage of the world's population living in the tropical region is expected to grow from 40 per cent today to 50 per cent by 2050. Northern Australia's time has come.

This growth in our region promises to deliver dividends for all Australians. More than half of Australian exports leave from ports in northern Australia. We all own a stake in seeing the successful development of northern Australia.

Our northern policy is an unashamedly regional development policy. Through developing the regions of our north, we can take pressure off the development of our major southern cities, while giving young Australians new opportunities for making a living and raising a family in northern Australia.

The success of our policy will not be delivered by the Government in Canberra but by the people who live and work in northern Australia. Our policies aim to attract investment, invest in infrastructure and unlock the potential of the north's abundant land and water resources.

It will be the dynamic people of northern Australia that create jobs, found businesses, start families and nurture communities. As a government we can only create the foundation. It will be the more than one million people of northern Australia who build the house.

That is our vision for northern Australia - that through our focus and our policies we provide the tools to our north to make it a magnet for the entire country. Our goal is that in the future people will be attracted to stay in northern Australia and move to northern Australia because of the opportunity that it manifestly presents.

If we are successful at that, it will benefit all Australians.

We have made a good start, but there is much more to do.

I thank the people of northern Australia for their continuing support and involvement in this nation-building endeavour. The White Paper is the catalyst to help build the foundations to make the most of that hard-working, determined and optimistic outlook, which will ultimately enhance the north.

All Australians will be more prosperous as a result.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I congratulate Senator Canavan on a wonderful statement and a wonderful job in advancing the interests of the development of northern Australia since he has been appointed the minister. It is not an easy portfolio, and there are a lot of people watching with keen interest. Senator Canavan, I have to say that you have done a wonderful job and made a wonderful start on the ongoing development of the North. I also pay tribute to Mr Andrew Robb, who was very much instrumental in the formulation of the white paper, and also the previous minister for northern Australia, Mr Josh Frydenberg, who took the white paper from its inception to a very good start.

As I have said for as long as I have been in this chamber, northern Australia has only five per cent of Australia's population, but it produces something like 50 per cent of its export earnings. As Senator Canavan has said, northern Australia has always punched well above its weight when it comes to the economic interests of Australia. The further development of northern Australia is not just about northern Australians; it is about all Australians and it is about making sure that the potential of the north is captured and turned into benefit for every single Australian. Senator Canavan mentioned at some length in his statement some of the advances that have been made.

A small government committee which I chair, made up of all the northern Australia members and senators, has been part of an oversight committee which keeps an eye on what is proposed in the white paper and on what action happens. The oversight committee's assessment is that, of the over 102 significant commitments made in the white paper a year ago, some 19 have already been completed—and I understand from the minister that may now be 21. Further, 51 of the 102 commitments in the white paper are in progress or pending; 30 of them have not yet been actioned; and two of them, of a relatively minor nature, have been abandoned. That is a pretty good start, after just one year, on a major white paper on the development of the North.

I want to pay tribute to all of the ministers and departments involved. While Senator Canavan is the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, there are many other ministers and departments who have jobs to do in relation to the white paper. Indeed, there are 16 different federal government ministers who have a role and whose responsibilities are mentioned in the white paper. They and their departments have acted enthusiastically in conjunction to play their part in implementing the significant interests of the white paper.

Senator Canavan rightly referred to the connection between northern Australia and Asia. We expect up to 50 per cent of the world's population will be living between the tropics in the not too distant future. Over a third of the world's middle classes are living in that tropical area. That gives great opportunity for Australia to be a world leader on what can be done in the tropics in so many areas, particularly in the area of health.

I am very proud that last Friday I, together with the Premier of Queensland, officially opened the Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University in Townsville. The universities will play a very big role in the development of northern Australia. JCU, who I have just mentioned, are even more advantaged in that they are the one Australian university, indeed the one foreign university, with an accredited university on the island nation of Singapore. With the Singapore defence deal to be, I hope and assume, announced tomorrow when the Prime Minister of Singapore is here, it will bring an even greater connection between northern Australia, and Townsville in particular, and Asia—and, so far as the defence deal is concerned, Singapore.

Senator Canavan also mentioned some other highlight achievements of the government in the white paper. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is a wonderful facility which will provide cheap loans for those wishing to develop the north. It will be a wonderful initiative for further investment and further developments in the north.

Senator Canavan mentioned water, which is so very essential to the north. I am delighted that a number of the projects that were committed to have received funding. We only need the relevant state governments—who control rivers, streams and water—to get on board. We also need to make sure that the money that the Commonwealth has made available is able to be used to develop water storage facilities in northern Australia, which are so very essential.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia—Mr Pyne's department—is underway with a $75 million non-competitive investment there. Even the Bruce Highway in the north is benefitting from the investment of the government there.

This white paper is not a one-year document. It is a five-, 10-, 30-year document, so it will be a long time in its full implementation. As I said, Senator Canavan and his fellow ministers have made a very good start in the implementation of those commitments, but this white paper is only the start of the further development of the north. All of us who live in the north, and those of us in parliament who come from the north, will be keen to work with the minister and with the government not only to implement the white paper but to look further beyond the white paper and always keep in mind the additional areas that have to be developed.

Senator Canavan mentioned the city deals project. To some in Townsville that would read 'stadium', but it is more than a stadium, it is a whole new concept of all levels of government working together to make particular cities better places to live. I am very pleased and excited about that.

Many of the commitments are underway and some have been completed. We have been a bit slow on some things and some things are very, very difficult. One of the real problems holding up development of the north is the land title situation—who owns what and what sort of tenure you have in land titles. The white paper had a lot of comment about Indigenous lands and Indigenous people. Some of the benefits for Indigenous people are underway and are being actioned, as the minister mentioned in his statement. The issue of land titles is a very, very complex one and certainly will not be fixed in a 20-minute speech nor in the immediate future. But it is something that, for everybody's benefit, really needs to be addressed. If we can address the issues of who owns what and what land is available then you will see a huge explosion, an even bigger explosion, in development projects in the north.

It is a wonderful start. Congratulations to the minister, to all of the ministers involved and to all of the departments involved in this white paper. It is a great initiative for Australia. It is something that will benefit all Australians.

I will conclude by saying that I look forward to the day when I say that it is not five per cent of Australia's population producing 50 per cent of its export earnings but something like 20 per cent of Australia's population producing something like 80 per cent of its export earnings. I think both figures are possible and doable, and I look forward to that day.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Macdonald. I note that you sought leave. I did not see Senator Moore. She popped up before you.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to seek leave to continue my remarks.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I know you want to do that. I want to go to Senator Moore, with the indulgence of the Senate, seeing as I missed her when she stood.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will seek leave to continue remarks at the end of my contribution, so we will not need to rely on Senator Macdonald.

I also seek to take note of the minister's statement. I thank the minister for his first update to the Senate on the current process of the northern Australia white paper. We know that the white paper is part of a compilation of existing government programs and initiatives sprinkled with new spending commitments.

The minister's statement highlights a number of important milestones. We are pleased to finally welcome the appointment of Ms Laurie Walker as the CEO of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. The Northern Australia Tourism Initiative, which provides $13.6 million for small and medium tourism businesses to get one-on-one business advice, combines the Entrepreneurs' Program—which was formerly known as the Entrepreneurs' Infrastructure Program—with the Australian Small Business Advisory Services program. This is a welcome initiative, but we believe it does not go far enough.

The government has also committed $75 million over the next 10 years to establish a new cooperative research centre in Townsville, and we welcome that in the wonderful northern city of Townsville. The idea to establish a CRC responsible for developing northern Australia is not new. It was first flagged in the coalition's June 2013 election policy, The Coalition's 2030 Vision for Developing Northern Australia. It was apparently on Mr Ian Macfarlane's desk for sign-off before Mr Turnbull replaced Mr Abbott in September last year.

Then, in November last year, John Wharton was appointed to run consultations with stakeholders and participants again on the direction and research agenda for the CRC, and it was supposed to commence in the middle of this year. But like some of the initiatives—indeed, most of them—included in the white paper, we are still waiting.

It has also been more than a year since the Abbott-Turnbull government first announced the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility—NAIF—and still no funds have been allocated to projects in the region. In fact, only one formal application for funding has progressed to due-diligence stage. When asked last month whether funding would flow before the end of this year, the minister could offer no guarantee.

After rushing legislation through this parliament in the last sitting week before calling the election, Mr Turnbull spent the election campaign in northern Queensland promoting the NAIF. In May the Prime Minister said:

… the commitment to Northern Australia from our national economic plan is enormous. We have a $5 billion, Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund that will be providing loans across Northern Australia …

Then, in June 2016, he also said:

Well our focus is on jobs, jobs and growth and particularly in Northern Australia. As you know, we have massive investment in the Northern Australia infrastructure fund …

It was the same talk about jobs—jobs and investment in the north. Residents and businesses are tired of a Prime Minister who talks a lot about this but who has not delivered on it. With high unemployment across northern Australia, the Turnbull government must begin to invest and create the sustainable jobs that the locals need and have heard so much about.

The minister mentioned tourism in his statement. We all know that tourism is one of the biggest employers in northern Australia. But a lack of high-quality facilities and tourism infrastructure limit our ability to increase our share of the growing Asian tourism market. Tourism is our third biggest export in value terms behind iron ore and coal. It accounts for one in every twenty export dollars. But the World Economic Forum's latest travel and tourism competitiveness index ranked Australia seventh for overall competitiveness and 20th for tourism infrastructure.

We have some of the world's most amazing natural environment experiences, but we risk being dragged down by substandard tourism infrastructure. The government has a key role to play here in supporting investment in world-class infrastructure which underpins a world-class tourism experience.

By 2030 there will be more than three billion middle-class people in Asia looking for tourism opportunities in our region and beyond. We want them to choose Australia. Cruise tourism, also, is growing 20 per cent a year, creating more demand. Airports in the north are also seeking to expand to meet expected demand. Without world-class facilities, we are not going to be able to compete, sending our necessary jobs overseas.

At the last election we made the commitment to allocate $1 billion from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to a Northern Australia Tourism Infrastructure Fund to boost partnerships with the tourism sector and to provide incentives for investment in new and upgraded tourism infrastructure across the north. The government could do this, but they have not. They did not even take a tourism policy to the last federal election.

To make matters worse, since the coalition government announced its flawed review into the backpacker tax, both the number of backpacker visitors to northern Australia and the number of nights they stay have seriously declined. In fact, lodgements for working holiday visa applications have fallen 10 per cent under the coalition. There were 24,000 fewer backpackers present in Australia at the end of 2015 compared to the same time in 2013.

We know that the backpacker tax has been a mess from day one. In fact, in many ways the backpacker tax tells you everything that is wrong with the Turnbull government. After more than a year of unnecessary pain and uncertainty for agriculture and tourism, the Turnbull government has now finally backflipped after pressure from the northern Australian George Christensen and the right wing of the party, who are really running the government. Labor will carefully examine backpacker tax mark 2, but one thing is for sure: decisions like the backpacker tax show the government takes northern Australia for granted.

The government's plan to develop northern Australia also largely ignores its most important resource—its people, in particular its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We heard from the minister that there are programs in train into the future. We also know that 30 per cent of the population of northern Australia is made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A critical part of unlocking the potential of northern Australia is increasing the capacity of the Indigenous population to contribute to the development of the region.

This involves building more than just hard infrastructure. It also means building skills and tackling chronic problems related to housing and health. However, the white paper says very little about that. In fact, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of northern Australia seems to have not been really consulted in the development of the white paper.

During the question and answer session at a recent CEDA event the minister told the audience that native title is one of the biggest barriers to growing agriculture and crops. Comments like this create the impression that the government sees Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander landowners and custodians as an obstacle to the development of the north, rather than, in fact, the key.

Native title is of particular importance to northern Australia, as the majority of determinations and current native title claimant applications are in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Roughly 80 per cent of northern Australia is directly or indirectly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. The government needs to stop viewing Indigenous land rights as an impediment to development and embrace native title and traditional land ownership as cultural, social and economic assets.

One of the Indigenous leaders who has been very critical of the white paper process and the lack of consultation is Peter Yu. In June of this year he spoke at the developing Northern Australia conference in Darwin and said there that there had been no formal engagement between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the government over the future development of northern Australia.

The Prime Minister has failed to reverse a single dollar of the $500 million in cuts that Mr Abbott, as leader, made to Indigenous programs and frontline services. Despite a promise that there would be no jobs or services lost, in fact, the opposite is true. At the last election Labor committed to doubling the number of Indigenous rangers employed under the working on country indigenous ranger program. The Turnbull government is refusing to give Indigenous rangers the long-term job certainty they deserve. Indigenous rangers are role models in their communities, with the program providing a pathway to work and a profession that has been shown to improve Indigenous health, incomes, crime rates and incarceration rates. That is how we can meaningfully close the gap: practically—one step at a time.

As the minister's report shows, there is still much work to do to, we hope, translate those big expectations into concrete, deliverable outcomes that will have a lasting impact. Labor looks forward to continuing to work with the government to actually achieve those outcomes, and we look forward to further reports to the Senate on progress towards implementing the northern Australia white paper. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted.