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Minister wants NAIF money used for economic recovery

The Morrison government is looking to relax the eligibility criteria surrounding the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility so the $3 billion remaining in the loan fund can be freed up to help rebuild the economy.

The fund, which was originally worth $5 billion, was set up by the Abbott government to provide low-cost loans for infrastructure projects across northern Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Its loan criteria are currently subject to a statutory review, which is almost complete, but Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt said he wanted the fund structured so the money could be rolled out the door faster and not just for infrastructure.

He said the fund needed to be more commercial, flexible and nimble so that regional economies could be helped as the nation emerges from the coronavirus shutdown.

“I believe that this will be a key platform to help northern Australia recover
economically. I’ve taken on board the range of views and feedback in the
review process,'' he said of the statutory review.

“I’ll be looking at ways that NAIF can further assist current and future
proponents and I’m not ruling out possible changes to how NAIF works to give them greater flexibility to assist getting projects started, to create jobs and get regional economies moving.”

Six weeks ago, Queensland Labor Senator Murray Watt made a similar suggestion regarding the NAIF and was acxused by Mr Pitt of ''point scoring".

"Now its his idea,'' Senator Watt tweeted.

"Better late than never, I guess.''

The review was commissioned by Mr Pitt's predecessor, Matt Canavan, amid frustration the fund was being underutilised.

To date, 19 projects have been approved for a total of $2 billion in loans.

Public benefit

To be eligible, a project, principally, "must involve the construction or material enhancement of northern Australia economic infrastructure".

Also, it must be of public benefit, be located in, or have significant benefit for northern Australia, require a loan that is able to be repaid or refinanced, and have an "Indigenous engagement strategy''.

Mr Pitt said he would like the use of the fund extended beyond just building infrastructure. For example, it could be used to help businesses expand, he said.

"Post-coronavirus, we need every opportunity on the table,'' he said.

"If we want to turbocharge northern Australia, this is a vehicle we can move on quickly. We have to be a little less risk-averse."

The often-maligned NAIF, which began operating in 2016, has been subject to considerable political push and pull during its short life.

Before the 2019 election, the then Labor leader Bill Shorten pledged to rename it the Northern Australian Development Fund and use $1.5 billion to develop gas pipelines across Queensland's Galilee and Bowen basins and another line connecting the Beetaloo basin to Darwin and across to the east coast.