Matt Smith
Leichhardt · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“But what did those opposite do during this time? They talked it down, called for rationing and scared people. There was a marked decrease in tourism leading into Easter because words matter. But so do actions, and, on this side of the House, we do actions. Today is a great day for actions. Paid parental leave—26 weeks.”
“The world changed. Things that we didn't think could happen happened. A war on the other side of the planet impacted supply lines. Facebook changed the way we gathered information, changed the way we got our fuel, changed the way we got our fertiliser.”
“The minimum wage is increasing by 4.75 per cent. That is a noticeable difference. People will feel that that in their hip pockets, and that money will flow on. People will have the confidence to go take the kids to a movie and make sure that the birthday party goes the way that it should. It is a fantastic thing.”
“It was, as Senator Bragg said, a vacated space for 20 years. If you go back three years before the space was vacated, you get $25 scripts, something that we have proudly bought back in so people once again are not making a decision between health and food.”
“That is a holiday in beautiful Far North Queensland with a trip to the reef and out to the Daintree and to the crocodile farm! That is what we're delivering: cost-of-living relief and great holidays in the Far North! I'm proud of what we've done here in our 12 months.”
“I rise to support the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026. We'll do the legislative stuff first. This bill modernises the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Act 2014 to ensure it remains fit for purpose.”
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“But what is really important is the boots on the ground—the people who are walking up and down through Wait a While. If the stinging tree gets you, you'll know about it for the next six months. There are leeches but thankfully no crocodiles in those parts of the world. They're doing a fantastic job. They've done something that is very difficult to do, and we see them out there every day. There are a couple of other things that are worth mentioning. Of course, $70.3 million is going to ABF to handle Operation Broadstaff. The waters of the Torres Strait belong to the people of the Torres Strait. They are not there to be fished or plundered by any other nation. Broadstaff ensures that we have presence on the ground and on water to ensure that the food and the culture remains that of the Torres Strait.”
“They create a hegemony, a monoculture of ants. It was said that they could not be tackled and that they could not be eradicated, yet the good people of yellow crazy ants have found a way. They trample through some of the most unforgiving forests in the country, dropping every five metres a mixture of cat food and jam, because ants like both sweet and savoury food. They come back in a few hours to check if there are yellow crazy ants. If there are, they go about killing them. They have eradicated around 120,000 hectares of yellow crazy ants—gone. They cannot claim eradication until there's been no sign of these ants for five years. They go back and they check. They take the dogs out. They've got all manner of UV infra-red science. It's great.”
“The Far North is getting the attention it deserves. It is getting the understanding that it deserves from this place—$6 million, which might not sound like a lot, but it's put towards eradicating the yellow crazy ant. The yellow crazy ant is a terrible creature. It's very small. It's yellow. It's not as crazy as they say, actually. It just tends to swarm. The ones that we've got up in the Far North are all related to each other. In their natural environment, they fight against each other. They don't get to take over. But all the ones that we've got have come from a single colony, so they're all related. They will swarm and they will drive out everything in it. If you enter a part of the wet tropics of the World Heritage area that has been taken over by yellow crazy ants, there is silence—no birds, no rustling, no skinks, just the ants.”
“I pass my condolences on to the member for Riverina on behalf of the people of Leichhardt. Neale Daniher was a fantastic footballer, a great man and someone that I remember fondly watching growing up. Tomorrow I get to return to Leichhardt, as do the children of St Andrew's, who have been visiting us here in Canberra this week. Fun fact—the minimum degrees in Cairns over the last few days has been 18; I don't think it has cracked 18 here. Those children suffered, but they enjoyed democracy. Meeting us and being around us here at parliament came a very close third to Questacon and the AIS. At a close fourth was the War Memorial. They came, they saw, they enjoyed. A lot has been said about the budget, but I do want to focus on what's happened locally, particularly in my area of the Far North.”
“That's what I want for my daughters—to get into their own home, to not pay off someone else's mortgage but to be paying off theirs. That's what I want for every single Australian. That is what this government is going to deliver: more housing supply, more opportunity. If you want a negatively gear going forward, fantastic. Build a new home, get a family living in there and you'll be investing in your future. You'll be investing in your tenant's future, and you'll be investing, most importantly, in the future of Australia. Every day I get constituents telling us that, yes, now they have hope. Now they see the light. Now they believe that they're going to live in their own home with their dog, with their children, with the stickers that their kid put up there when they were two, and they'll live there the rest of their lives.”
“It is a simple dream and one that ought to be attainable—the sold sign at the front of a house, close to work and schools, a happy family pictured out the front. Though quickly, this was becoming a thing of the past. Locked out of the market, young people were increasingly despondent about the opportunity to own their own piece of Australia. Something had to change. So this Albanese Labor government has made that change. Only a party truly out of touch, truly not talking to community, truly comfortable with the status quo, would oppose giving young Australians the opportunity to own their own home, to start a family, to buy a dog and live their best lives. My parents built the home they still live in when I was a toddler. They paid it all off before I finished high school.”
“We are requiring them to reserve their production for the domestic market. It means Australian gas will work for Australians. It will deliver more supply and the lowest possible gas prices for users. It will boost sovereign capacity and strengthen our supply chains. We want a future made in Australia.”
“Those words mattered. That impacted the tourism industry in my part of the world. People didn't come. That hurt small businesses. Fear and division over something as important as fuel is not appropriate. So what we need to do is get the facts on the table. Let's talk about the specifics of this gas reservation policy. The government is introducing a domestic gas reservation so that LNG exporters supply a portion of their total production to the domestic market equivalent to 20 per cent of their exports. The domestic reservation scheme is expected to commence on 1 July 2027. We need to understand that gas will continue to be needed as we transition to renewable energy—keeping the lights on and ensuring the security of our energy system. The gas reservation scheme will apply to exporters.”
“In Brisbane, the Bulwer Island refinery closed in 2015. In Melbourne, the Altona refinery stopped refining fuel in 2020. In Perth, the Kwinana oil refinery closed in 2021. That's four of the six refineries we had left in Australia that have closed since 2014 and all under the watch of the Liberal and National parties. Two of them actually closed when the now Leader of the Opposition was the energy minister and while One Nation's leader in waiting, the member for New England, was the Deputy Prime Minister. At the time, the member for Hume said: Closure of the refinery will not negatively impact Australian fuel supplies. That has unfortunately not turned out to be the case. At some point you've got to stop putting politics over policy. We saw before Easter, when everybody was talking up the fuel crisis, that that mattered.”
“I'm sure shortly and throughout this debate members from the other side will stand up and talk about how this isn't a win and maybe tell us how they think they could do better. Of course, it's in the name—'opposition'. But, if you really want to get the facts in this debate, let's talk about what the Liberal and National parties and their partners in One Nation did while they were in government. Instead of storing fuel here in Australia, the Liberals and Nationals charged the taxpayer to store it in Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, but it's not particularly useful when there's an ocean between it and where you need to be! The Liberals and Nationals also love to say how they want more fuel refined here in Australia, but how did that go for them? In Sydney, the Kurnell refinery closed in October 2014.”
“We provided relief for consumers and industry, secured fuel supplies, taken national leadership. We halved the fuel excise for three months, including foregoing extra GST on fuel, so that people wouldn't feel that pinch at the bowser, to give them the confidence to get to the places they needed to go. We passed new laws to double penalty for petrol companies for price gouging, and we tasked the ACCC to ramp up fuel price monitoring and issue on-the-spot fines. We also stepped in to support industry by pausing road user charges for truckies for up to three months, deferred the next increase of the heavy vehicle road user charge and gave the Fair Work Commission new powers to demand truckies are paid fairly when fuel prices spike. No matter what is happening in the world, the Labor government is focused on helping Australians here at home.”
“Fuel security, which often was not thought about in my lifetime, is now front of mind for many people right across regional Queensland, especially up my way with the vast distances of the Far North. That's why this government, the Albanese Labor government, is taking action to secure Australia's fuel for the long term. For the record, here's what we're doing. We're buying more fuel. We're growing our national reserves of jet fuel and diesel to 50 days so Australia is better prepared for any future shocks. We're going to refine more fuel at home. We're investing in domestic refining capacity and storage so we're not as dependent on what can happen overseas. And we're keeping more fuel here. We're requiring gas companies to reserve 20 per cent of their exports for Australia so that our energy needs come first.”
“I move: That this House: (1) commends the Government's plan to build Australia's energy sovereignty, alongside growing our fuel reserves and supporting more fuels made in Australia to stay in Australia; and (2) notes that a 20 per cent liquified natural gas exports domestic reservation scheme will: (a) put strong downward pressure on domestic gas prices; (b) shield our industry and households from global price volatility; and (c) ensure Australia's energy security by avoiding potential gas supply shortfalls. Right now, the world feels uncertain. Conflicts overseas, disruptions to global supply chains and rising energy costs are affecting everyday Australians.”
“When protection measures for age verification, which we rely on so heavily to protect Australia's youth, do not fulfil their sole function, then what type of protection measures are they? Action to prevent this must be taken, and now. If this issue is to be addressed seriously, steps beyond easily bypassed measures must be taken to create more reliable solutions. More accurate protection systems must be put in place, systems which we can truly rely on to protect the youth of Australia. So, I call on you, as the social media companies in charge of age verification, please act now and protect Australian youth. Protect them from the exposure of dangerous content plastered across social media. I urge you, the time to act is now. I want to thank Alicia for her words and her passion.”
“One of the most serious causes of this is that eighty-three percent of young people are exposed to self-harm or suicide content on social media. Viewing such content has shown an increase of suicide risk. Youth must, just must, be protected from this. From personal knowledge, it is also obvious that current age-verification systems are inaccurate. Underage users have managed to bypass these security measures, and many have continued usage of social media despite the ban. Some Social media platforms have implemented artificial intelligence scans for age verification. Completely unreliable, I've witnessed under sixteens passing the check. Just like that. Nowhere near sixteen and they've passed.”
“If we are truly committed to protecting our youth, we must also be committed to ensuring that the ban achieves exactly what it has been put in place for. According to Molly Rose Foundation , a suicide prevention program, as of 2026 three in five Australians aged twelve to fifteen still have access to social media, despite restrictions. Meanwhile, YouthInsight , a youth focused research agency, reported that over fifty percent of youth have found the ban ineffective in improving their safety, as many retained access. If under sixteens can still easily access social media, is the ban really working? The risk Australian youth are exposed to is far too great to ignore. According to L ife in M ind , Department of Health, Disability and Ageing , suicide is the leading cause of death for young Australians.”
“We welcome work experience kids into our office very regularly. One of the tasks that we set them is to write me a speech. They are not given any oversight. It is completely their words, because their voices matter. Today's speech is from Alicia. She came down for youth parliament. She attends Redlynch secondary college. These are Alicia's words: The Social Media Ban receiving Royal Assent at the end of 2025 was not implemented without reason. Social media presents rising concerns about dangerous content, harming Australia's youths' mental health. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious, while the bill passing was the admirable and moral course of action, that it is not as effective as planned.”
“Let them rent it at a reasonable rate to start their lives. Then they can enter the housing market for themselves and, in 40 years time, the stickers from their child will still be on the door. They can have their holidays and return to their home, with their dog or their cat. They won't be living under the rules of someone else. They won't be paying off someone else's mortgage. Homeownership used to be something that everyone could aspire to, but it was taken away. This Labor government is giving it back. We are looking young people in the eye and saying, 'Yes, we have heard you; we are acting, and Australia is as much yours as it was the previous generations.' I'm proud of this budget, I'm proud to be a member of this government, and I am proud that young Australians will have their own homes.”
“They look at it and go, 'This is ridiculous—$1.2 million for a house!' It's a number that you can't even think about when you're working slinging boost juice for $42,000 a year or working at the local council for $85,000 to $90,000 a year. You're never going to get there. Changes have to be made, and to make changes you have to be courageous. This government is courageous. It identified a problem that has been brewing since I was a child: house prices going up, up, up. It looks fantastic on paper, but, as the economic rationalists do not see, there is a living cost, a real cost, and that is snatching the hopes and dreams of young Australians. This change will boost supply. We're not saying don't negatively gear; we're saying negatively gear, but build the house. Get more housing. Get more people into the housing.”
“Most people's dreams aren't like those of the member for Hunter here, a five-time Olympian. They're modest, easy. They want to go camping with the kids. They want a nice family. They want security. These are the things my children speak to me about. More than anything else, they want their own home. Homeownership is that part of Australia that belongs to you, where you'll bring your babies home to, where the grandparents will meet the grandchildren for the first time, where memories are forged. My parents live in the house I grew up in. They've owned it for 46 years now. The stickers that I put on the door are still there, because they own that home. Renting cannot give you that, and that is why we have to address this. We have to give young people the opportunity and let them back into the property market, because they don't have hope.”
“Niz wanted nothing more in life than to be a mechanic. He was a good mechanic. He went and worked for Holden—the great Australian car—and he climbed the ranks, to the point where his job was to take the new car out into the bush and do his level best to break it. Then he'd come back, fix it up and start again. We'd have beers when we got to catch up, every now and then, and he would take us through the new car, with sound effects. My favourite would be when it dropped from fifth to third. He loved that job. He loved everything about it. That was his dream. The member for Goldstein is an economic rationalist. He called the Australian car manufacturing industry 'terminal' and celebrated its demise. What about Niz's dream? That was all he wanted, and it was snatched away.”
“I grew up in towns of timber, agriculture, defence and mining, and I represent the most Australian place in Australia. I know the Australian dream, unlike the member for Goldstein, who, when he's not desecrating Billy Joel—the temerity to attack the piano man in such a way!—is downloading his own book, as we discovered today during the MPI, which I guess is akin to the member for Hunter wearing his Commonwealth medals into the place. He's put together a website so he can speak to working people. Fantastic! I don't need a website. I grew up with them. I know them. These are my friends, my family. I'm going to talk about a guy who I went to high school with. His name was Niz. It's an abbreviation of his last name. He was the first one of us to shave. He was a sprinter. He played basketball with us. He was built like a bowling ball.”
“From the views out at Cape Tribulation and across the mighty Daintree River to some of the most beautiful and pristine beaches on the planet, you may even see a cassowary. The beaches are not necessarily for swimming, because there are bitey things in there, but there are some fantastic swimming holes that are crocodile free. Just head up to Mason's, stop at Floraville and grab yourself an ice cream. It's a really special day. Not a single person ever in the history of the world has regretted a moment they've spent in the mighty Daintree. I recommend that everybody in the Far North get in the car and head across the river to support local businesses. They've been doing it tough, but they're going to show you one of the best places on the planet.”
“One of the great privileges of representing a seat such as Leichhardt is the unmatched natural beauty. Recently, I had the good fortune of being able to share that with the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman. He came to speak to businesses and locals across the river at Cape Tribulation about some of the issues they'd been having post floods. As many of you would already know, the ferry was washed away, which cut off the Daintree and Cape Tribulation from the rest of the world. We had to helicopter in fuel, food and other supplies. But the Daintree Ferry is back! And the Douglas Shire Council has waived all fees for anyone in Far North Queensland. All Far North Queensland locals can now head across the river for free and enjoy one of the world's great natural wonders. I would encourage absolutely everybody to do so.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the Albanese Labor government taking action to assist Australian families, farmers and businesses who are under pressure caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East? What actions have been taken to boost Australia's fuel security and supply?”
“We can support our local families and our local businesses really close to home by driving that hour and a half up the road from Cairns, taking that ferry and heading into the wilderness. Go and look out over Cape Tribulation and experience what people put on their bucket list, right around the corner. I know it's been a hard few weeks for the businesses of the Daintree. They don't ask for much, but they want to show off their region. So I urge everyone in Far North to head in that direction and support our local businesses.”
“The tourism season is upon us—the four-day break that a lot of people look forward to. If you're headed to Far North Queensland, or if you're lucky enough to be a local, can I recommend heading over the river to the Daintree. On Thursday, the Daintree Ferry will open again after being closed due to a flooding incident on 6 March. It's open to visitors. You could go there for a half-day reef tour. You could look for crocs or cassowaries, take a dip in one of the croc-free swimming holes or grab an ice cream or the tropical fruit that is in abundance. These are not big businesses. These are family businesses who have been cut off through no fault of their own. The Daintree is one of the last truly wild places on the planet. You go there, and you'll have a great time, and the people of the Daintree will welcome you with open arms.”
“We expect similar numbers to come through the north of Cairns. This has been a really proud moment, not just for me but for all of the volunteers involved, who went out, got those signatures and can now see the fruits of their labour. It has been a very rewarding time in Cairns. Additionally— (Time expired)”
“The northern suburbs of Cairns can pull from Mossman and Kuranda. We know that people were travelling from those places all the way down to Edmonton for their urgent care, but now they only have to go as far as Smithfield. We also found that during Tropical Cyclone Jasper, and, with the severity of these weather events, sometimes the highway gets cut off. Now we have the ability to get quick care, urgent care, right close to home without having to traverse a flooded highway to get to the emergency department. Over 39,000 people have attended the urgent care clinic in south Cairns. That's 39,000 people that didn't wind up waiting in ED, taking pressure off the Cairns base hospital. I know that the doctors, nurses and admin staff there are very grateful for that to be taken off their plates.”
“Seven to 11 Mount Milman Drive, Smithfield—that is the address of the brand new urgent care clinic open for the north of Cairns. This election commitment was brought about by the people of Cairns and an army of volunteers who went door to door with a petition calling on the north of Cairns to grab an urgent care clinic. This is democracy in action. The people called for it, we were able to commit it and now we have delivered. What was really rewarding was the amount of volunteers who would come out in the tropical heat—and the heat in a Far North Queensland summer is not to be trifled with—and, through the heat, the humidity and the rain, go door to door saying, 'Can we grab an urgent care clinic for the northern suburbs of Cairns?' It's important, and the reason it's important is once again our North Queensland weather.”
“On Friday during my phone calls to all the communities to make sure everyone was okay—the mayor of Lockhart River was on the plant—my favourite text was again from Coen on Friday night. 'We're all good. The power's back on. We're back in the pub.' Fantastic! A full circle moment! I love the Far North, the resilience we show and the way we look after each other, and it just shone through again.”
“It was their first cyclone. Sara, who runs a bush pantry there, and her husband broke down one day, actually, and they decided to stay in Coen. There wasn't a mechanic in town. Mike was a mechanic, so he bought the place. It was their first cyclone, and they were so impressed at how the entire community got together and made sure that everyone was going to be safe for the upcoming storm. On Sunday I went to Weipa to inspect the damage there—same thing. The North is resilient, and the North survives. I do want to illustrate a story which I think shows who we are as the Far North. On Thursday night I got a text from Coen: 'Preparations are good. We're in the pub.' Okay! Couldn't fault the logic!”
“It also took a hard right and spared Coen, taking out some of the stations. There was a lot of damage to shed infrastructure, and a couple was stranded on the Moreton Telegraph Station for a day or so while the floodwaters from the Wenlock rose. On Saturday I flew up to Coen to meet with Premier David Crisafulli, with the member for Cook and with Mayor Robyn Holmes. All three levels of government were available for the people of Coen to have a chat to. What we found in Coen was a community that was resilient and happy. They were grateful that they were spared the worst of the cyclone, but they were prepared. This is not our first rodeo. We do cyclones fairly regularly. The thing about the Far North—and the thing that I'm most proud of—is how our community bands together in times like these. There are new community members in Coen.”
“On Thursday last week we were informed that Tropical Cyclone Narelle had reached category 5 levels. This is an incredibly dangerous system with winds up to 250 kilometres an hour and the potential to impact right across Cape York Peninsula. On Thursday we hit the phones, calling into the communities of Lockhart, Coen, Cooktown, Hope Vale, Wujal Wujal, Aurukun, Weipa, Pormpuraaw, Napranum and Mapoon to ensure that they were prepared and ready for what was coming. It went from bad to worse. A small but powerful system was bearing down, looking to hit Coen directly and then move across the cape. We were spared the worst of it. Princess Charlotte Bay is shallow. It sucked some of the power out of Narelle, which arrived as a category 4 and rapidly diminished once it hit the land.”
“They'd been neglected for many, many years, and it is our responsibility to rectify that. It's our responsibility to look after the regions. It's our responsibility to look after all of Australia. Things are tough at the moment. Fuel prices are hurting people. It's widely acknowledged that supply chains are making things a bit more difficult. That is why 20 per cent of the reserve has been released—on the condition that it goes to rural and regional Australia. Rural and regional Australia is Australia. The cities are Australia. All of it is encompassed here. All of it is represented on this side of the House. We're not worried about the bubble. We're worried about Australians and making this country the best that it can be.”
“I know this government delivers for all of Australia and for the people of Leichhardt. We have some different challenges up there—challenges that many other members on our side have and that some from the opposition have as well—in terms of distance. We are heavily reliant on airports. Currently the cape is cut off. It happens every year. It's going a bit longer this year because the wet arrived late and, of course, because of Cyclone Narelle. We are now heavily reliant on our airports. This government recognised that and invested $25 million into our remote airports, making sure that our communities can get the health care they need and the education they need and that the medicine comes in, the food comes in and the fuel comes in, because it had to be done. These airports didn't suddenly fall apart.”
“It's the ability for women to get contraceptives over the counter and the investment in women's health and the endo clinics—half of Australia, not quite all but half, a half that had been ignored for way too long. It's more bulk-billing. There are 49 bulk-billing clinics across Leichhardt now, whereas, before, there were 36. You see, Leichhardt—and I said this during my first speech—is the embodiment of Australia. It's the most Australian place in Australia because of its diversity, because of what it is. It is a city. It is mining. It's tourism. It's the outback. It's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is all of the best parts of Australia in one place. So, when we talk about all of Australia, we'd just as soon be talking about Leichhardt.”
“On the hundreds of phone calls that we made, not a single person said to me, 'Gee, does the opposition have enough staff?' They were concerned about real life. Then to have the gall to talk about the bubble—'All Australians' means the people of the cape. 'All Australians' means the 14 million Australians who have received tax cuts. What that means is putting money back into their pocket, rewarding the work that they're doing, getting ahead, feeling like the government is on their side. On the PBS, it's the reduction in price to 2004 levels. I didn't have children in 2004. It was very, very different world. But they will experience cheaper medicines.”
“I'm honoured and surprised to be going this early! In 10 minutes, you can listen to 'Welcome to the Jungle' and 'Sweet Child o' Mine', or you can drive from Craiglie to Port Douglas, or, in the member for Gippsland's electorate, you can't quite get from Sale to Maffra. Ten minutes is 600 seconds. It's not a long time, but it is the time allotted for matters of public importance. During this matter of public importance, the member decided to talk about his staff. He doesn't have enough staff. That was a matter of public importance. In 10 short minutes, that was what he chose. I, and my staff, made hundreds of phone calls across my electorate on Thursday to make sure that people were prepared, that they knew that Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle was coming, that they were safe and that they had what they needed.”
“We understand that cost of living is front and foremost of every single Australian's mind, and we are delivering. Do you need a cut in your HECS debt—delivered. We've made the largest investment in medicine. PBS medicines are back down to the price they were in 2004, when I was playing for the New Zealand Breakers. I was terrible in New Zealand, but the medicines were cheap and people enjoyed it. Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are opening right across the country—great for spider bites and now great for the northern beaches of Cairns.”
“Today marks 12 months since the Albanese Labor government announced cost-of-living top-up tax cuts for 14 million Australians, because we want Australians to keep more of what they earn. Australians up in my part of the world work hard in a variety of jobs, often in the heat, but they go at it. Often, it creates a hard-earned thirst—just a quick reminder that the beer excise has also been frozen! But it was on this day tomorrow, where the opposition got together and said, 'Should Australians keep more of what they earn? Do Australians deserve a tax cut?' And at this strategy meeting they looked around and said, 'Nah, I think they're alright.' In the middle of an election campaign those opposite couldn't listen to the people. They didn't understand what was going on out in the street. We have listened.”
“My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How is the Albanese Labor government making it easier for Australians to see a doctor when they need urgent care? Why did the government introduce this new model of care, and how does it compare to other policy approaches?”
“The NAIF allows us to be the best version of ourselves and will help bring Australia along with us. I commend this bill to the House and all urge all members to back in northern Australia.”
“A part of that, of course, will be the rest of the infrastructure that we're investing in. That includes better roads. You need that connectivity, which is why the investment in the Bruce Highway, the Kennedy Development Road, the Cairns Western Arterial Road, the Kuranda Range Road and the bridges is so important. These are just some of the roads in my electorate that are going to benefit from that. We're also investing in universities. This holistic approach means that the Far North is positioned uniquely to move forwards, and it is all driven by the NAIF. I hope through my speech I have shown just how important both the NAIF and government investment are to northern Australia and what northern Australia means to the rest of the country. We are not the final frontier. We are the future.”
“It's about what that means not just for me but for the future of my children, my children's friends and the communities that have sometimes been left behind in economic development. Every community that I go to across Leichhardt has a plan. They know where they want to go. They know what they want to do. The NAIF is going to help them unlock the finance that they need to get that going. I hear about abattoirs and produce markets and ways to feed the mining camps at Rio Tinto and Cape Flattery. I hear about cultural tourism and what that could mean to these local communities. People are talking to us about geothermal electricity. There's all this potential. It all needs investment, and sometimes government needs to step in to be that investor—to invest in our people and invest in our ideas. That is what the NAIF is for.”
“The NAIF will stick around until at least 2036, safeguarded by five-yearly reviews. The world is changing. The way that we interact with technology is changing. So it is appropriate that this legislation is built to change with it. That flexibility is going to enable us to deliver the right projects in the right areas. The increase from $2 billion to $7 billion is massive. It shows confidence in what the Far North can deliver. It shows confidence in our regions. It shows that this Anthony Albanese Labor government acknowledges that the world is pivoting to the north and is going to pivot with it. I'm so very proud to be part of a Labor government that now has so many regional MPs and so much representation across the north of Australia and that our voices are being heard. The potential, the opportunity and who we are are being recognised.”
“There is an impressive portfolio of investments in my own seat, including social and affordable housing. There are 490 places. That's 490 homes. It's not just about the jobs. It's not just about addressing the housing situation. It's a place where families are going to grow. It's a place where grandparents will meet their grandchildren for the first time. It is a place where Christmas presents will be opened. It is a place where birthdays will be celebrated and where loved ones will be welcomed. That's what these investments are. They're not just economic; they're also social. If we are going to build the economic future of Australia in the north, we're going to need people and we're going to need places for these people to live. I've inspected that place many times. I'm very excited about what that means for my community.”
“It's a part of our identity. When I drive home over the Barron River and look over the cane and the vistas going back up to the range, it's beautiful. It screams Far North Queensland and it screams prosperity. It screams opportunity. All these opportunities in our regions are going to help the country grow. But, to make the most of any opportunity, to make the most of any potential, we have to invest in it. If you don't invest in potential, that potential is wasted. That's precisely why the NAIF is so important, precisely why it exists and precisely why it needs to be extended. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility fund is worth $7 billion and is a government development financier providing concessional loans for the development of infrastructure projects right across the north and the Indian Ocean Territories.”
“At Christmas when you're getting those gulf prawns, the big tigers—they're from the north as well. Our cultural history goes back for 60,000 unbroken years. When you go to some of the communities that I get to represent, English is the third or fourth language. Children will speak to you first in Wik, and it is beautiful. We are in a position, though, where we can take all of this, add to it and make the north even stronger and, as a consequence, make Australia stronger. We have the potential for renewable energy, massive tidal zones, huge amounts of space, plenty of wind, plenty of water, plenty of sunshine and biofuels. There's so much work being done with sugar—turning sugar into ethanol and turning sugar into jet fuel. Guess what there's a lot of in Leichhardt? There's sugarcane everywhere as far as the eye can see.”
“The critical minerals, which will be so important for the rest of this century and into the future, are all in the north. Our tourism is the best in the world. We have world-class attractions. We have places you can go and see that are represented only in Australia and only in the north of Australia. It is beautiful. Our people are tough and resilient. We handle natural disasters in our stride. We deal with the humidity and the heat. We are a tough group of people. Our farmers reflect that. They are strong. They bring us the best produce in the country and some of the best beef in the world. American McDonald's uses Australian beef, and they use a lot of it too. There are bananas, exotic fruits and avocados. Your hamburgers are better because of what happens in the Far North.”