Media Release

KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter will be meeting with the CEO of the NAIF (Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility) in Cairns as well as Northern Australia Minister Keith Pitt, following the recent announcement that the NAIF will be extended for another five years - despite releasing only 2% of its allocated $5B since 2016.
“I will be having a meeting with the CEO and Minister next week otherwise there will be big trouble in Little China,” he said.

“This is a national disgrace that $5B was put into that loan facility in 2016 and yet all we’ve got is some extensions to a car park, and extensions to a building.

“Not a single, permanent job has been created and yet the big job-creating, money-making projects lay dormant including Hells Gates, Bradfield, Hughenden, The North Johnstone Transfer, Copper-String 2.0 and a tax-payer owned rail line into the Galilee Basin.”

Mr Katter said the country was floundering under the weight of Covid-19 as the money that the Federal Government is spending is going into ‘absorb money’ projects, not ‘make money’ projects.

“They’re building tunnels in Brisbane, ring roads around Melbourne and stadiums in Sydney, while the Opposition are calling for more public housing,” he said.

“The unemployment rate and underemployment rate continue to rise and everyone knows the real rate is much higher as everyone is receiving Job-Keeper and Job-Seeker. If we want to wean the nation back onto real work then North Queensland’s ‘super projects’ are the answer.”

Minister Keith Pitt was appointed to the role in February this year, and Mr Katter said he hopes it will mean the NAIF can be utilised properly.

“We have a new Minister and he’s got a clean piece of paper, so let’s start again. The NAIF loan guidelines have to be changed dramatically.”
-ENDS-