NAIF’s ready to roll

AFTER a “challenging” start, the board of the North’s key regional infrastructure development agency is confident Townsville will soon benefit from a “strong pipeline” of jobcreating projects.

Karla Way- McPhail has been on the board of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility ( NAIF) since its inception in July 2016 and said the organisation was now in a “great position” to kickstart development in the North.

“I would say that the original perception was that when the NAIF started there would be a lot of projects come running and knocking on our doors,” she said.

“I do think it was probably a surprise to both us and the organisation and the politicians that it didn’t happen like that.”

Ms Way- McPhail said the board had gone through a “really long journey” to make the $ 5 billion NAIF successful.

“We had to look at how we could harness the energy of the North and how we could bring people forward to be successful with projects and that did involve some changes,” she said.

In April, Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan unveiled a suite of reforms to the NAIF in a bid to entice more projects to pursue a loan through the facility.

The changes included removing a 50 per cent cap on loans so NAIF is able to cover all of a project’s cost, expanding the definition of eligible infrastructure and removing a minimum spending cap.

In July, the NAIF granted a $ 96 million loan to James Cook University in Townsville to build an ultra- modern Technology Innovation Complex.

Ms Way- McPhail said she expected the “very exciting” JCU project to be the first of many in the Townsville region to receive support from NAIF.

NAIF has provisionally approved up to $ 516 million for Genex Power’s Kidston project, north of Townsville.

But despite these recent announcements the NAIF has drawn criticism for failing to finalise more projects.

“Obviously we would like to see more projects out the door but I do think our pipeline is extraordinarily strong,” Ms Way- McPhail said. “I think that we’re getting some really good runs on the board and people are becoming aware of the platform and what we can do for them.”

Ms Way- McPhail said while big infrastructure projects were important, some smaller projects presented a “significant” return on investment for taxpayer money and created a large number of jobs. DISGRACED Labor politician Matt Brown says he is a “f... ing idiot for playing Russian roulette” with drugs in Townsville this week and will now get help for years of depression and alcohol dependence after his career imploded.

The former NSW Labor police minister resigned from Cabinet in 2008 after allegedly drunkenly dancing in his underwear and simulating a sex act.

Brown lost his seat in 2011 and is now a Kiama councillor. He faced Townsville Magistrates Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to drug charges after being arrested at the city’s Ville Casino on Monday.

“The arrest was a wake- up call I have needed for years, my problem is with depression and alcohol – not drugs,” he said yesterday. “I have battled these demons for years and now I have to accept I need help. I’ve had a backlog of issues with career problems, my career plummeting, a long use of alcohol dependency that have affected my decisionmaking process.

“It’s time now I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Brown was caught with a 1.5g packet of methamphetamine and a glass pipe at The Ville Resort Casino on Monday night. He was fined $ 500 with no conviction recorded.

Kiama Municipal Council’s Mayor Mark Honey yesterday said Brown had requested a leave of absence.

“My first concern is for Matt’s welfare. It’s important for him to take this time off from his duties to ensure his health and wellbeing,” he said.