Launch of the Mid and North Western Australia Investment Portfolio, Perth, WA
25th July, 2016
Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today and for the privilege of launching the Mid and North Western Australia Investment Portfolio. This Portfolio is the result of a substantial body of work that was commissioned by Regional Development Australia [RDA] Pilbara which lead the project, and contributed to by RDA Kimberley, and the RDA Mid West Gascoyne.
It is a pleasure to join with the three RDAs, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, and the Australia China Business Council, to launch the Investment Portfolio which has the potential to drive a new round of growth and development for north west Australia.
We have just been through a federal election where the Liberal National Government placed its commitments to jobs and growth at the centre of its campaign. Jobs and growth are also at the centre of the Mid and North Western Australia Investment Portfolio which identifies a host of new job opportunities for the future.
Yet the Coalition almost lost what was surely an unlosable election. And there are plenty of recriminations and questioning going on about how that could have happened - as there should be. Undoubtedly the Coalition was out campaigned by more focused, committed and in some cases better resourced opponents - and a few lies.
There is never anything wrong with a campaign based on delivering jobs and growth.
With an increasing population, living longer and rightly demanding better services, the nation must produce more and more and deliver services more efficiently.
But the campaign emphasis on a new economy and innovation was unsettling for those who saw themselves as part of the traditional economy - the farmers and graziers, the miners and manufacturers, the tourism operators, the shop keepers and tradesmen, those who live in regional Australia - all of whom were wondering what their place would be in a new economy based on innovation.
Afterall, these are the people who built our country and created our nation's wealth - today's economy. To be successful they have always had to be innovative. This kind of innovation sounded more like big cities and big computers than real jobs for real people!
Was the government giving up on our nation's traditional strengths and yielding to the extreme greens, the animal liberationists, climate zealots and others who want to close down the sections of our economy that produce the hard economic wealth that has made our country great?
Regional Australia generates most of this wealth and the four regions covered by this Investment Portfolio, the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Mid West, have all played a leading role in delivering the strong economy our nation has enjoyed for a generation. They have been world leaders in innovation and still are - they could never have succeeded without it.
And as this document highlights, all are ready to continue making an innovative contribution to growing the national economy into the future.
The resource richness of both the landmass and the marine environment across the four regions provides huge opportunities for new investment to develop new transport, mining, energy, tourism, agriculture and aquaculture opportunities as well as improve indigenous advancement. And this investment is vital no matter how innovative our nation is to become.
The Investment Portfolio contains information on approximately 70 commercially investable projects that will help to diversify and strengthen the economy across the regions.
It showcases opportunities for new ventures in a growing regional economy and highlights the benefits that can be derived from future investment in Mid and North Western Australia.
The industry sectors highlighted in the Investment Portfolio include: residential and retail, community facilities, industrial, infrastructure, minerals and petroleum, irrigated agriculture and livestock.
The document examines the opportunities in those industries, identifies potential strategies and pathways to deliver the projects, and offers a platform to use these projects to unlock the broader potential of the region.
It will help to inform commercial investors about opportunities across the region and will become an important resource to promote projects that grow jobs and secure the economic future of the area.
Northern Australia is strategically located to participate in the booming economies of South East Asia. By 2030 Asia is expected to be home to two thirds of the world's middle class and by 2050 half the world's population will live in the tropics. The region is integrating fast and the Free Trade Agreements Australia has negotiated over the past three years with our biggest trading partners in the region will cement our economic cooperation and partnership. These export agreements will increase demand for our nation's produce beyond our capacity to supply and offer new opportunities for investment and jobs.
This Investment Portfolio will be a useful resource for potential investors and will help to inform and attract investment from the public and private sectors in Australia and from overseas. Such investments will be strategic in opening up the area, and will further diversify the economy of the northern half of the State.
The document will also help to inform Government decision makers about infrastructure that will be required to improve access to open up the region.
The Investment Portfolio also identifies demographic changes, forecasting population and jobs growth, and highlighting the strategic advantages of the regions, and future economic prospects.
"There has never been a more exciting time" to be a northern Australian. The Australian Government's White Paper on Developing Northern Australia is the biggest commitment to the north by a national government ever - and it is an investment in the future of the whole country. We can never achieve our potential as a nation unless we truly tap the wealth and skills of the north and its people
When the regions do well, so does our nation.
Northern Australia already accounts for 11.7 per cent of Australia's GDP and is responsible for over two thirds of our mineral and fuel exports. By 2040, Deloitte forecasts the north may account for almost 42 per cent of the national economy.
I want to stress that the White Paper is not an empty dream. It is a 20 year whole-of-government road map backed with an initial investment of $1.2 billion plus a $5 billion loan facility for northern Australian infrastructure projects.
More than fifty measures and initiatives will be delivered in what is a far-reaching and comprehensive approach covering water, infrastructure, employment, governance, business and trade investment.
These Australian Government initiatives are designed to open up the north to increase investment in infrastructure through targeted programmes that will reduce the costs of doing business in the north and improve opportunities for success.
Coalition Government programmes to grow northern Australia include:
A $600 million Northern Australia Roads Package: Roads identified by jurisdictions as priorities, such as those connecting communities or regional towns to ports and airports, will be eligible for funding.
A $100 million Northern Australia Beef Roads Fund is aimed at reducing the costs of transporting cattle in the north. The Government is working with the three northern jurisdictions, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, as well as industry experts, to target upgrades that can improve the efficiency and productivity of the northern cattle supply chain, and allow more efficient use of existing infrastructure.
$2 billion is available through the National Water Infrastructure Loan Facility and $500 million in the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund.
$7 billion is committed on Defence in the north, including $5 billion over the next ten years through the Defence White Paper.
Geoscience Australia has been provided $100 million to secure a pipeline of new greenfield exploration sites in northern Australia for future developments.
New investments are being made in regional communities through the Stronger Regions Fund and Community Infrastructure Grants.
And the Government will continue to progress White Paper initiatives through an expanded Pastoral Industry Program.
The $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will look to partner with the private sector and northern jurisdictions to provide concessional loans for new airports, ports, roads, rail, energy, water and communications infrastructure. The Government has already received a number of proposals and expressions of interest for funding from this facility.
The Investment Portfolio aligns with the Government's regional development vision, which is based on enhancing and driving real competitive advantage and productivity improvements through public and private investments.
Delivering on this vision involves continuing the Government's $50 billion infrastructure program to better connect Australia, as well as its initiatives to support small business and encourage entrepreneurship.
The Government's investment in an efficient, national transport system, matched with its plan to cut taxes, invest in innovation, and create jobs, increases the capacity of the economy, improves our nation's competitiveness and boosts productivity.
In my time as Minister with responsibility for Regional Development I greatly appreciated the role of Regional Development Australia and their predecessors in supporting their regions and connecting with the federal government. I commend the collaboration between the RDAs to work together for the benefit of Mid and North Western Australia to produce the Investment Portfolio.
Their efforts to attract investment to diversify the economies of the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Mid West regions will give rise to future public/private partnerships as well as commercial investment opportunities to create jobs, sustain economic growth, and to grow vibrant communities.
The Coalition Government understands that it has a leadership role to play in establishing the right economic environment, but the work that has been done to develop this Investment Portfolio highlights the opportunities and puts your regions in an advantageous position to capture the best investment.
I am sure that the new Government looks forward to working with the Mid West and North Western region, to capitalise on the opportunities created by new and emerging national and international markets, to bring to fruition the projects highlighted in the Investment Portfolio I am delighted to launch today.
