Over the last few weeks the federal government has made changes to the North Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) to make it easier for projects to access funding. There have been more wonderful politically correct statements about developing Northern Australia and how committed all levels of government are to this process.

As you probably well know, in 5 years there has been ONE project funded under this facility. Northern Australia is the most wasted and untapped resource we have in this country…..but the inability of all our levels of government to get anything moving come down to two simple issues –

1. Developing Northern Australia is a long term project, a generational project. Political terms are only 3 years.

2. There are not enough people (read voters) in Northern Australia to create a voice against Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne.

Following is a Newsletter I wrote in March 2013 about the brand new NAIF proposal….makes interesting reading in hindsight.

Newsletter No. 38 – March 2013

Tony Abbott’s Northern Australia…….

Finally….a vision for Northern Australia!!!

Even though the coalition was quick to say this was a draft, of a draft, of a draft, that was for discussion purposes only, the fact that a bold vision such as the development of Northern Australia has even been put on the political agenda should be music to all Australians ears….not just us northerners.

However it was almost comical to see the reaction of southern politicians, (and some northern ones as well), that all this development in Northern Australia would be to the detriment of the average suburbanite in Sydney and Melbourne, and besides who on earth would ever want to move to Northern Australia.

I don’t have to explain to my readers what we produce in Northern Australia, our contribution to GDP in straight dollar terms let alone on a per capita basis, yet still we see politicians pandering to the lowest common denominator to get votes, rather than leading with vision.

Back in the early 1990’s I used to work for the Queensland Industry Development Corporation, and I remember the Mayor of Richmond at the time, Fred Triton, showing through actions and his own money, that crops (in this case cotton) could not only be grown, but thrive, on the soils of the western downs country……as long as irrigation was available. But sadly that vision did not gain the support of our southern masters.

We live in one of the lowest per square kilometre populated countries on earth, and we have minerals, agricultural, and water sources, that many countries around the world look at with great envy, and can’t understand why we are so underdeveloped. Now development doesn’t have to be development for the sake of it, it must be sustainable, with a vision for the future of the country as a net exporter.

…………..Now I’ve had a little rant, the point of all this is the development of Townsville as the Capital of North Queensland not just in name but in reality. We have the lifestyle, the resources and the access to facilities that we could not have dreamed of even 10 years ago. We are poised to take advantage of the next generation of growth in our region, but we need some critical things-

· Base load power

· Irrigation water and infrastructure to open up the agriculture areas

· Controls on mining to ensure the minimization of loss of high quality agricultural land

Sometimes it seems in Australia that mining is the be all and end all, like the sheep was in the 1950’s. But food and water will lead us into the 21st century and we have the opportunity to genuinely be the ‘food bowl’ of Asia…..and with that comes population growth and all the services and development that it generates.

………………………nothing changes.

NAIF (Not Another Infrastructure Furphy)