MADELEINE KING
NORTHERN Australia is a special place. It hosts areas of great beauty, from rainforests to deserts, beaches to mountain ranges.
It is home to some of Australia’s most resilient, hardworking and friendly people, always ready to receive visitors warmly. Communities across Northern Australia each have their own unique needs and concerns.
People in the south and in the big cities don’t always understand the struggles working people face in the north.
The vast distances, problems in accessing basic services and the cost of food and groceries.
I am very proud to be the first female Minister for Northern Australia.
I am also the Minister for Resources and I think the twin portfolios of resources and Northern Australia are a great fit. My experience with the resources sector deepens my understanding of the importance of the north to the national economy.
But my desire to serve the people of Northern Australia extends beyond issues linked to the resources sector.
My job is to be a voice for the north inside cabinet, and at the highest levels of government, to ensure the southern states understand the enormous economic significance of the north. As a Western Australian, I am keenly aware that it is often too easy for people in Sydney and Melbourne to sometimes take the economic contribution of regional areas to the national economy for granted.
Northern Australia is a gateway for defence and security co-operation into the Indo-Pacific region. It is an important producer of the resources that are powering the development of our region and will power the new resources economy. It hosts world-class agricultural sectors that are helping to feed Australia, and the world. It provides a close connection to our key trading markets in South-East Asia.
The Albanese government’s commitment to the north was highlighted just a few weeks after the election, when our full cabinet met in Gladstone.
Since being sworn in I have visited Darwin, Mackay, Gladstone, Townsville, and Barcaldine. And before becoming a Minister, I was a frequent visitor to central and northern Queensland, the Pilbara in WA, and the remarkable NT.
As a further part of our commitment to make sure this government is listening to the voices of people in the north, the cabinet will meet in Port Hedland in September.
The Albanese government wants to support communities in Northern Australia to seize the emerging opportunities to build on traditional industries, including in the extraction and processing of resources, as well as the diversification of agriculture and aquaculture to produce clean and safe food. I want to leverage our cultural offerings and natural assets to grow tourism and increase local participation in the defence industries.
And, of course, there are so many new opportunities coming down the road, such as critical minerals, renewable energy, low emissions industries like hydrogen and the space industry. We took a range of policies to the election with the aim of supercharging the economy of Northern Australia. The Albanese government is delivering a $15bn National Reconstruction Fund, including support for valueadding in our resources, agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries.
The government is forging ahead with its A Better Future for our Regions and A Future Made in Australia industry plans, which are designed to enhance investment in projects that will help build a new platform for growth in regional economies, where these industries are often located. As part of our pledge to fix communications black holes left behind by the Coalition, we are delivering our Better Connectivity for Rural and Regional Australia Plan. Our Housing Australia Future Fund will build social and affordable housing now in regional centres. The fund will also create jobs and change lives.
Importantly, I am restarting the Ministerial Forum for Northern Development – the MFND – which the Coalition axed. The forum will bring together ministers with responsibilities for developing Northern Australia – minister Glenn Butcher in Queensland, Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison in the Northern Territory, and minister Alannah MacTiernan in Western Australia. By working together, we can ensure priority investment is properly targeted to results for the long term.
Northern Australia’s greatest resource is the people that live there.
The north’s vibrant population – which is statistically younger and more multicultural than average – is dedicated to the future of their communities.
In partnership with the people of Northern Australia, I am keen to bring communities together to drive the Northern Australia agenda and to deliver for the nation.