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Katie Woolf spoke with Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Commonwealth Government is set to streamline the Northern Australia
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Infrastructure Facility. The program offers low interest loans for infrastructure
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  Speaker 1: projects across Northern Australia. Now joining me on the line
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  Speaker 1: to talk more about this is the Federal Minister for
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  Speaker 1: Northern Australia, Keith pet Good.
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  Speaker 2: Morning, Hey, good morning, young good moneing you listen.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister. The government is going to be announcing the
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  Speaker 1: changes as part of next week's federal budget and arraimed
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  Speaker 1: at making it easier to access the funds. What exactly
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  Speaker 1: is going to change?
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  Speaker 2: Will there be a number of changes. Firstly, we're looking
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  Speaker 2: to make sure that we can lend father. I'm looking
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  Speaker 2: to expand the eligibility criteria so there's more projects that
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  Speaker 2: can access the fund and increase the government's risk appetite
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  Speaker 2: so in places it'll be acceptable for the Commonwealth to
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  Speaker 2: be the majority of risk holer. And we also want
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  Speaker 2: to be able to deal with those smaller projects that
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  Speaker 2: one to five million dollar area in terms of loans,
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  Speaker 2: and we'll do that through co partnering with other finance
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  Speaker 2: service providers.
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  Speaker 1: Do you find that you can get many requests for
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  Speaker 1: those smaller loans.
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  Speaker 2: Of the NAPE has been looking at those bigger transformational projects,
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  Speaker 2: and they do take a lot of time to assess
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  Speaker 2: and develop and get all their permits and get everything
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  Speaker 2: pushed forward. But in the post COVID world, I think
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  Speaker 2: every project will continue to be important. Those smaller ones
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  Speaker 2: are just as important as a large project, particularly for
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  Speaker 2: a small regional center. Now five million dollar loan to
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  Speaker 2: a manufacturing facility, for example that's located in clon Curry
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  Speaker 2: or somewhere in the territory is incredibly a big deal
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  Speaker 2: for that local community, and we want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that we're providing access equitably right across the North.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, I think that it is absolutely essential. And
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  Speaker 1: I understand that the changes are also going to include
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  Speaker 1: expanding the program to buy equipment and train staff and
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  Speaker 1: also expand existing operations. Why are these changes going to
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  Speaker 1: help businesses and different projects, do you think?
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  Speaker 2: Well, previously the NAPE was restricted to funding just the
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  Speaker 2: physical construction work. So it's an easy example if you
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  Speaker 2: wanted to build a railway line and run some trains
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  Speaker 2: or the NAPE could fund construction of the track, but
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  Speaker 2: not the rolling stock, so they couldn't finance the trains
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  Speaker 2: and the carriages. So you know, if you want to
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  Speaker 2: be viable, we need to be able to look at
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  Speaker 2: those projects in a holistic way. Now, it will take
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  Speaker 2: changes to the legislation. They will have to go through
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  Speaker 2: the House and the Senate, but we are getting on
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  Speaker 2: with delivery for the KNAFE. They've already committed some two
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  Speaker 2: point four billion dollars in investment decisions and we want
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  Speaker 2: to get out as much as we can, as quickly
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  Speaker 2: as we can to projects that matter for the North.
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  Speaker 3: Now.
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  Speaker 1: I know that obviously there has been still quite a
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  Speaker 1: bit of funding go out, but really it's not as
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  Speaker 1: much as what a lot of people would have hoped.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, are you hoping that these changes get things
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  Speaker 1: moving and really enable more projects, more businesses to be
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  Speaker 1: able to utilize the KNAFE.
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  Speaker 2: Well, one of the challenges has been the delays within
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  Speaker 2: the states and territories on average two hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 2: one days to make a decision on something that doesn't
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  Speaker 2: affect their balance sheet and for which the Commonwealth takes
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  Speaker 2: all the risk. So we are changing the legislation to
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  Speaker 2: allow the Commonwealth to make a decision in particular circumstances, directly,
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  Speaker 2: particularly where politics gets in the way, Katie is you
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  Speaker 2: know that happens. I mean some of these projects it
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  Speaker 2: took a year for the states or territories to decide
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  Speaker 2: whether the coin worth could provide alone two hundred and
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  Speaker 2: sixty days on average. So we are looking to speed
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  Speaker 2: this up. And if you're a commercial proponent, you just
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  Speaker 2: can't wait a year for someone to decide if you
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  Speaker 2: can have a loan.
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  Speaker 1: No, you really can't. And Minister, this is something that
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  Speaker 1: i'd actually caught up with Nicole Madison, the Deputy Chief Minister,
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  Speaker 1: about earlier in the week and I'd spoken to her
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  Speaker 1: about it in her portfolio of mining and the issue
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  Speaker 1: that we were sort of you know we were talking
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  Speaker 1: about is I'd ask whether there are or why there
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  Speaker 1: are such delays on some of our mining projects, and
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  Speaker 1: she'd actually pointed to the fact that in some cases
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  Speaker 1: it's difficult for these projects to get that capital or
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  Speaker 1: get that funding. Take a listen to what she had
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  Speaker 1: to say.
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  Speaker 3: Well, we've got a raft of different projects they're Katie,
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  Speaker 3: that are on the books and some of them are
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  Speaker 3: really close to getting out of the ground, but the
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  Speaker 3: issue doesn't tend to be approval. So I want to
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  Speaker 3: be very clear about that. The issue tends to be
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  Speaker 3: about being able to lock in capital and finance for
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  Speaker 3: these companies. So that investment journey is some of the
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  Speaker 3: work that we're doing with the course the Territory Economic
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  Speaker 3: Reconstruction Commission about how can we unlock capital into the
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  Speaker 3: Northern Territory through that private sector investment. That's why we've
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  Speaker 3: got somebody like Gail Kelly there and Andrew liveris helping
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  Speaker 3: us with that work because they've got that international, global
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  Speaker 3: experience about working with big companies and big projects and
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  Speaker 3: how they secure finance. Have also of course met with
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  Speaker 3: Keith Pints, the Minister for Northern Australia, to discuss the
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  Speaker 3: NAPE and ways in which you could be more flexible
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  Speaker 3: and more agile to the needs of the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: I mean taking those comments into account, Minister, how can
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  Speaker 1: the NAFE be more flexible and more agile do you
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  Speaker 1: think for Territorians wanting to access funding?
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  Speaker 2: Well, well, as I've said, we're expanding the eligibility criteria.
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  Speaker 2: The capacity to go around the States and territories where
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  Speaker 2: necessary will take on average two hundred and sixty days
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  Speaker 2: out of a decision. Increase risk appetite will mean that
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  Speaker 2: more projects can be funded and those smaller projects that
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  Speaker 2: one to five million dollar space where we can on
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  Speaker 2: land through other finance providers, I think will be a
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  Speaker 2: very important level of finance that can be provided from
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  Speaker 2: the KNAFE to those smaller projects right across the North.
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  Speaker 2: So the Prime Minister is absolutely dead keen that we
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  Speaker 2: use this as a Corona recovery event, and I tend
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  Speaker 2: to make it happen.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's so incredibly important. I mean for
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  Speaker 1: us here in the Northern Territory. Today you know, the
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  Speaker 1: front page of the paper is reporting that there's going
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  Speaker 1: to be cuts to jobs that impacts Yesterday we heard
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  Speaker 1: about job cuts at Charles Darwin University. You know, I
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  Speaker 1: guess the big concern here in the territory is when
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  Speaker 1: you have job cuts, what you very often see is
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  Speaker 1: people leave the Northern Territory to go and head into state.
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  Speaker 1: And what I can see right now is that we
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  Speaker 1: really need to get you know, some investment in other projects.
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  Speaker 1: We need to sort of get other major projects going
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  Speaker 1: to try to keep into in the territory or to
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  Speaker 1: create new industry so that in turn, hopefully it creates
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  Speaker 1: jobs and it brings people to the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Oh well, that's exactly right. And what I'm seeing in
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  Speaker 2: my travels at the moment is there's a real interest
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  Speaker 2: in moving back to the regions, into those smaller areas
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  Speaker 2: where they're not gemmed up in the city and they're
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  Speaker 2: not living in a thirty story or one hundred story
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  Speaker 2: building or whatever the case may be. There's been some
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  Speaker 2: really incredibly strong, real Austraight interest in sales right across
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  Speaker 2: Region Australia and in the North and it's all about
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  Speaker 2: jobs that they've got a job to go to. That's
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  Speaker 2: where we'll go.
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  Speaker 1: Now. Have there actually been a lot of applications for
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  Speaker 1: territory projects to the knafe? And I know that there's
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  Speaker 1: some detail that you can't go into, but is there
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  Speaker 1: a real appetite to get things moving in the territory
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  Speaker 1: in terms of what's going through the knafe? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Well, there absolutely is, and we've made some decisions already
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  Speaker 2: as you're were Charles darwen Unie one hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 2: one million dollar alone plus ninety one million dollars through
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  Speaker 2: the city deal. So they're all very important. There's work
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  Speaker 2: around your ports and other locations have to do bar.
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  Speaker 2: He has been a great success story, as you've said.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, there are some which are commercial and confidence
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  Speaker 2: in the pipeline now which we will look to make
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  Speaker 2: the decisions and announcements on as quickly as we can. But
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  Speaker 2: once again, the NAP will be a very important source
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  Speaker 2: of fines for Northern Australia. We need to get that
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  Speaker 2: money on the ground as quickly.
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  Speaker 3: As possible now.
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  Speaker 1: Senator Murray Watt, the shadow spokesman for Northern Australia, reckons
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  Speaker 1: that he's going to consider the changes carefully once some
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  Speaker 1: more detail has been announced. He said any changes should
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  Speaker 1: be aimed at facilitating real job producing projects, not just
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  Speaker 1: pave the way for more routs from National Party controlled funds.
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  Speaker 1: He goes on to say that he reckons the name's
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  Speaker 1: been a great disappointment to many Australians in the North
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  Speaker 1: and has not delivered what was promised. I mean, what
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  Speaker 1: would you say to those comments, I mean.
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  Speaker 2: What complete nonsense. All I want to hear from Murray
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  Speaker 2: Watt is that yes, the Labor Party will support the
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  Speaker 2: changes in the Senate and the House. We'll get it
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  Speaker 2: done as quickly as we can. I mean, he's seriously
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  Speaker 2: suggesting that Humpty do Barramundy or Charles Darwin UNI or
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  Speaker 2: anything to do with the ports are a political decision.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, your listeners I think can see through the
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  Speaker 2: bs pretty pretty quickly, and mister white Well leaves full
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  Speaker 2: of it.
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  Speaker 1: Minister, how soon can we expect some of these projects
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  Speaker 1: that you spoke about to be announced for the Northern Territory?
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  Speaker 2: As I've said, there's a pipeline of those projects being
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  Speaker 2: assessed now that they are commercial in confidence. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we can't go and breach the confidence of proponents that
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  Speaker 2: are looking to get their permits done, their financing place,
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  Speaker 2: their approvals from all the different levels of government. There
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  Speaker 2: is a process to step through, but the changes that
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  Speaker 2: I've announced for the NAPE will ensure that those processes
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  Speaker 2: are as quick as we can possibly make it. We
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  Speaker 2: are increasing our risk appetite, we are increasing the number
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  Speaker 2: of projects and types of projects that can be funded,
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  Speaker 2: and that on lending partnership with small for smaller loans
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  Speaker 2: I think will be really important.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Keith, I know that you're probably not going to
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  Speaker 1: give us any any scoops here, but the federal budget
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  Speaker 1: being handed down next week, can we expect much more
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  Speaker 1: for the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: All that the answer is yes in the second answer
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  Speaker 2: is of course, and the third answer is jobs, jobs
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  Speaker 2: and jobs. But the PMS you would have seen today's
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  Speaker 2: media around the Manufacturing Fund that will be critical to
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  Speaker 2: drive development right across Northern Australian In the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 2: you know how important it is to look at downstream
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  Speaker 2: processing to get that value adding You've got some great
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  Speaker 2: resources that we want to get out of the ground
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  Speaker 2: and we need to make sure we maximize the value
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  Speaker 2: for the Australian people.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Minister for Northern Australia, Keith Pete, always good to
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  Speaker 1: catch up with you. Thanks so much for your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, great with you.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you and well that is the Minister for Northern Australia,
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  Speaker 1: Keith Pitch There