General News
3 February, 2025
Northern fund promise
OPPOSITION leader Peter Dutton has promised that the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) will become permanent under a Coalition government.
In a flying visit to Cairns last Saturday, Mr Dutton, along with the opposition’s Northern Australia spokeswoman Senator Susan McDonald and Jeremy Neal, the LNP candidate for Leichhardt, confirmed that NAIF would become permanent if the Coalition was elected later this year.
The $7 billion fund has underpinned around 20,000 jobs, yet currently has a sunset clause of June 30, 2026.
‘Labor’s uncommitted’
According to the Coalition, neither Labor’s 2024/25 budget, nor their recent Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), gave any commitment to future funding of the NAIF.
“Northern Australia is front and centre of the Coalition’s plans to get Australia back on track,” Mr Dutton said.
“This commitment demonstrates the Coalition’s ongoing investment in Northern Australia to ensure economic success and more jobs for the region,” he said.
“The Coalition wants to deliver job security and investment security for Northern Australia, and even more economic investment, in particular here in Cairns.
“The Coalition established the NAIF, we funded the NAIF, and we legislated the NAIF.
“ And now the Coalition under my leadership will ensure the NAIF is a permanent fixture in government.”
Senator McDonald said the Coalition wanted the dedicated facility for Northern Australia to be a fixture of Australia’s economic development.
NAIF has been a success
“The NAIF has proved its success. That’s why the Coalition put another $2 billion into the facility ahead of the last election and successfully pressured Labor into keeping it there,” she said.
Senator McDonald said since its creation in 2016, the NAIF had supported 33 projects underpinned by $4.4 billion in commitments from the loan facility fund.
“It has driven investment in northern manufacturing, airport upgrades, community housing, beef processing and steelmaking,” she said.
Economic powerhouse
“And that has meant more jobs, better jobs, and higher paying jobs in the north. The Coalition is committed to seeing the north, not only grow as one of Australia’s economic capitals, but also as an economic capital of Asia and the Pacific.”
Mr Neal said it was “a great announcement for Cairns and for Northern Australia”.
“We want to ensure Northern Australia is the economic powerhouse that we know it can be and today’s announcement is an important part of achieving this,” he said.
Permament home
“Ensuring the NAIF has a permanent home here in Cairns means more jobs and investment for Leichhardt.
“Ensuring we unlock the potential of Northern Australia and unleashing its economic strength through the NAIF is an important part of the Coalition’s positive plans to get our country back on track.”
Far Northern projects include:
NAIF’s $140m loan to Community Housing Ltd and Tetris Capital Pty Ltd for the $426m Cairns Seniors Community Housing Project at Woree for 490 dwellings, comprised of 245 social, 223 affordable and 22 SDA apartments
$610m loan for the $777m Kidston Project pumped hydro energy storage scheme developed in an abandoned gold mine at Georgetown west of Cairns
$155m loan to upgrade key infrastructure at Cairns and Mackay airports within the next five years.
