13th May 2021, 1:55 PM – Senate Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Extension and Other Measures) Bill 2021 - Second Reading - Condemn Government

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill).

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes the Government's failure to:

(i) deliver what it promised as part of its Northern Australia Agenda, and

(ii) get money out the door of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF); and

(b) further notes that the bill includes amendments that the Opposition has been calling for over a number of years; and

(c) calls on the Prime Minister and the Government to:

(i) learn from their failures with the NAIF over the past five years,

(ii) deliver the funding they have promised for development in Northern Australia by speeding up the release of funds from the NAIF, and

(iii) realise the potential in Northern Australia and re-commit to delivering on their Northern Australia agenda".

What does the bill do?

According to the bills digest, the bill was introduced in order to:

• extend the period when the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (the Facility) can issue financial assistance
• expand who the Facility can give assistance to, and how it provides this assistance
• add the Finance Minister as a responsible minister for the Facility and
• change some governance arrangements in relation to the Facility.

Currently, the purpose of the Facility is:

...to provide financial assistance to the states and territories for the construction of economic infrastructure in Northern Australia. It does this through providing concessional loans and guarantees.