Speech to the Developing Northern Australia conference

Thank you, Professor Dale, for your warm welcome and your invitation to speak here today.

Allan has been and remains a tireless advocate for the North.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands we meet on here in Karratha, the Ngarluma [Nar-lum-ah] people, and pay my respects to their Elders, past and present.

I extend that respect to all First Nations peoples here today.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone involved in organising the Developing Northern Australia conference.

There is an enormous amount of work that goes into organising events like this, and the effort is very much appreciated.

It is one of the highlights of my calendar.

Thank you to everyone that has travelled here today to be at the Karratha Arts Precinct.

I would like to acknowledge colleagues from both State and Federal Parliaments around Australia and the many other dignitaries who will be contributing to the conference over the next few days.

If I could give special acknowledgements to Luke Gosling OAM MP Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia.

I was thrilled when Luke was announced as Special Envoy for Northern Australia. Nobody gets the North like Luke. I am looking forward to working with Luke to get results for the North.

Queensland's Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing and Minister for Water, Glenn Butcher. Glenn won't be here in person but will be speaking to us from the great state of Queensland.

And if I could also acknowledge the Federal Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Senator for Queensland, Susan McDonald.

Also your local federal member Melissa Price. We don't agree on everything but we agree on the importance of the North and that the Fremantle Football Club have a bright 2025 season ahead.

And while I am doing acknowledgements can I congratulate the incoming Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Lia Finocchiaro.

And I'd like the recognise the work of former Chief Ministers Natasha Fyles and Eva Lawler and Deputy chief Minister Nicole Manison, all of whom I worked with in the Northern Australia an Resources portfolio.

Thank you for your contribution to the north.

I'd like to thank everyone who has spoken before me today.

It's exciting to see so many bright minds and passionate voices advocating for the north.

The theme of this conference is a "vibrant northern Australia". And I really believe that's what we have here today.

It is a privilege to be here and I'm looking forward to a big program featuring so many distinguished presenters.

Northern Australia Action Plan

In my address to last year's conference in Darwin, I spoke about the work being done to refresh the 2015 Our north, our future: white paper on developing northern Australia.

Today, I am pleased to announce the release of the Northern Australia Action Plan 2024-29 - which is the culmination of that important work.

This Action Plan reaffirms the Government's commitment to the north.

The action plan takes stock of the opportunities and challenges for Northern Australia and sets the strategic direction for this Government's approach to growing and supporting industry and communities in northern Australia.

The Action Plan says that in order for Australia to be successful, the north must prosper.

Because a strong north means a strong Australia.

Northern Australia is key to most of the major policies being delivered by the Albanese Government, including:

Australia's transition to a net zero economy. We simply can't get to net zero without the minerals, resources, people and know-how that can all be found in Northern Australia.

We need the critical minerals in northern Australia to build the batteries, wind farms and solar panels to reduce emissions. And we need gas from northern Australia to back up the growth in renewable energy.

The Government's Future Made in Australia agenda will leverage the competitive advantages of the north - like abundant renewable energy resources, natural assets and resource endowments - to secure Australia's place in a changing global order.

The Critical Minerals Strategy which I released last year will only be delivered on the back of the north's significant minerals deposits.

And our northern communities are central to the implementation of the National Defence Strategy.

Defending Australia starts right here - in the North.

The National Defence Strategy will boost local supply chains and deliver new infrastructure to support the increased ADF presence in the north, creating jobs and skills.

And very importantly if we are to shift the dial on Closing the Gap targets, the northern Australia agenda is critically important.

This includes addressing systemic barriers and the impacts of historic decisions which have - and continue to - stifle First Nations economic participation.

The world is changing quickly. And Northern Australia is becoming more and more important, not just to our nation - but to our region.

Housing availability and affordability, skilled workforce shortages and the increasing impacts of climate change must be addressed if we are to advance the norths prosperity.

The Northern Australia Action Plan sets out a refreshed five-year Australian Government policy agenda for the north, focusing on:

Activating the northern economy
Infrastructure to unlock growth
A safe and secure north
Growing the northern Australia workforce
Liveable, healthy and resilient communities, and
Protecting the north's environment and cultural heritage.

Recognising the need to address known barriers to success and structural issues the Action Plan outlines 17 Areas for Continued Focus for immediate action.

These actions recognise the importance of how the Plan is implemented, and the need to work in genuine partnership with northern communities, regions, local businesses and industry.

Actions include:

Investigating opportunities to address higher costs of doing business in the north.

Anybody who operates a business in the North. Any person buying anything whether it be groceries or whether they are trying to build a house - they know how expensive it is in the North. And sometimes those extreme price differences creates an affordability divide between the north and the south.
We will establish a First Nations Economic Partnership to improve economic outcomes for First Nations peoples and this will include northern perspectives.
We will partner with research organisations to develop research priorities for the north.

And we commit to:

working with local communities that know what their priorities are and the best ways to address them
working with First Nations people to support self-determination, and
building community resilience to adapt to a changing climate.

Each year the Government will report on how it is delivering on the Action Plan, to ensure we remain accountable to our original goals.

I would like to acknowledge the hundreds of people who took the time to participate in the engagement process which has been key to the development of the Action Plan.

We have listened, and we are acting.

I look forward to strengthening our collaboration, and working with our partners - especially our state and territory partners in the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum - to deliver a prosperous northern Australia.

Copies of the Action Plan are available online, please see the Office of Northern Australia staff in the exhibit area to assist with access.

Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility

A major driver of transformational investment in the north is the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility - known as NAIF.

The NAIF continues to be one of the most important instruments in getting key infrastructure projects across northern Australia off the ground.

Last month the NAIF reached a significant milestone with over $2 billion in funds now drawn down by proponents. It is fair to say that the NAIF today is delivering real outcomes.

For example, right here in the Pilbara the NAIF is now supporting six projects with a combined loan value of close to $1.3 billion.

These projects are forecast to generate a combined $14.1 billion in public benefits and around 5,000 jobs.

And there are more to come.

Today, I am extremely pleased to announce the addition of a seventh project in the Pilbara.

I can confirm the NAIF is providing a loan facility of up to $150 million for the De Grey's Hemi Gold Project -not far from here.

The Hemi Gold Project is set to become one of Australia's largest gold mining operations and will deliver significant benefits to the local community.

This project is expected to deliver $6.2 billion in public benefits, 1,240 construction jobs and 500 ongoing jobs - over 1500 jobs in total.

The addition of this project means the NAIF is now supporting 33 projects across northern Western Australia, the Territory and Queensland.

These projects range from large-scale critical minerals and energy developments to social infrastructure - including universities. As well as airport upgrades, health infrastructure, and agriculture and aquaculture.

What is not well known is how effective the NAIF is in leveraging its financing capacity alongside that of other government investment vehicles such as Export Finance Australia and the Critical Minerals Facility.

The NAIF financing is often the cornerstone funding for challenging projects that bring both further public and private investment.

And in doing so, the team at NAIF - which has offices in Cairns, Townsville, Darwin, Brisbane and Perth - make things happen.

I would like to thank the hardworking public servants at NAIF: their commitment to the north is remarkable and they are critical to ensuring the NAIF delivers for the north and the nation.

The NAIF has committed over $4.4 billion in total investments across the north, supporting more than 18,000 jobs and generating more than $33.7 billion in public benefit.

Of the jobs forecast, 1,087 so far are filled by First Nations peoples. In addition, Indigenous procurement across all projects has reached almost $73 million.

These figures are fantastic, but we are committed to increasing them.

Earlier this year I announced the release of a new toolkit and guideline to ensure that NAIF funding applicants and recipients maximise Indigenous participation, procurement and employment.

Indigenous Reference Group

Underpinning our work in supporting First Nations self-determination and prosperity is the Northern Australian Indigenous Reference Group, who are here with us today.

As a collective, the IRG's insights have - and will continue to be - instrumental in informing the northern Australia development agenda, as well as government policy more broadly.

For example, the IRG has recently been working with the National Indigenous Australians Agency on reforms to the:

Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program
Indigenous Procurement Policy, and the
National Strategy for Food Security in Remote First Nations Communities.

And in the last financial year alone, the IRG made six submissions to government inquiries, made two virtual representation at Parliament, and taken part in nine consultations.

The IRG's understanding of the longstanding issues that Indigenous peoples in the north encounter in the business sphere is incredibly valuable. Their recommendations have contributed to the promotion of economic empowerment and self-governance for Indigenous communities and individuals.

I thank the IRG for their ongoing contributions and look forward to continuing to work with them to support a stronger and more prosperous north.

Review of the NAIF Act

Now I know the old adage goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" but in the case of NAIF we are taking steps to continue to grow its potential to create new industries, jobs and opportunities.

We adopt a model of continuous improvement to ensure NAIF can keep opening up opportunities in the north.

Over the last few years we have amended the NAIF Act to provide the Facility an additional $2 billion in funding and have increased its footprint to capture the Indian Ocean Territories.

We have also issued a new Investment Mandate to ensure that investment decisions and potential projects are delivering economic, social and community outcomes for the north as intended.

Always looking to improve, we have been taking steps to better support access to NAIF finance for proponents seeking small loans.

For example, $66.7 million has been invested in NAIF's flagship partnership with the NT Government under the NT Local Jobs Fund. This is providing small loan opportunities of up to $10 million in the Territory.

Western Australia and Queensland assure me they will soon join the small loans scheme, which has Federal money as the backbone of the funding with the states as administrators.

While all of these steps are already delivering dividends, the Australian Government is keen to see what more can be done to further support transformational projects in the north.

Earlier this month I launched a review of the NAIF Act - the overarching legislation that sets out the Facility's purpose and functions.

This Review is a requirement under the Act and will advise the Government as to whether the NAIF's existing investment window should be extended beyond 2026 and what governance arrangements would be appropriate after that date.

I have appointed an Independent Expert Panel to undertake this Review, comprising the Honourable Warren Snowdon as chair, Professor Peter Yu and Dr Lisa Caffery.

Mr Snowdon, Professor Yu and Dr Caffery all have strong connections to northern Australia and the relevant skills to lead this review.

Warren is a former parliamentary colleague. No one could question is commitment to the North.

Peter Yu is of course an esteemed Aboriginal leader and long-time advocate for economic self-determination for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley.

And Dr Caffery is a respected business leader in regional Queensland.

The Panel will be undertaking consultations to identify and harness insights from stakeholders across the north. These will inform their recommendations to government on the future of the NAIF.

The Review Panel is scheduled to deliver a report to government by the end of the year and I look forward to receiving the Panel's considered views.

Gross Regional Product

In closing, I would like to reiterate just how important northern Australia is to the nation's prosperity.

Despite having just five per cent of Australia's population - the north contributes between 8.5 and 11.5 per cent of the Australia's Gross Regional Product.

You work hard up here. And you do more with less.

People in the North achieve more - often with fewer resources (and some may say with less complaining) than our southern counterparts.

Thank you for your time today and for this opportunity to speak to you all.

I am sure you will enjoy the inspiring presentations on offer over the next three days.

Thanks again.