COMMITTEES

Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia) (16:07): I move: That the Senate take note of the report. I rise to speak on the tabling of this important report by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia. At its heart is a simple question: if northern Australia is so important to our prosperity, energy security and national defence, why do we continue to govern it as if it were simply an extension of southern Australia?

For decades, governments have produced plans and programs for the north, yet the same barriers remain: distance, high costs, inadequate infrastructure, workforce shortages, fragmented approvals and governments operating in silos. This report argues that it's a time for a reset. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Western Australia's far north-west.

The Pilbara is one of Australia's great economic engine rooms. Its iron ore, gas and resources industries generate enormous export wealth and underpin national prosperity. Further north, the Kimberley holds enormous untapped potential in resources, agriculture, energy and tourism.

But we will never realise that potential if we treat the north simply as somewhere people fly in, extract wealth and fly out again. Northern development must mean building permanent communities—places where people can live, raise families and build businesses. That requires roads, ports and airports as well as housing, reliable energy, water, telecommunications, schools and health services.

We also need to confront one of the great weaknesses in the way the government has approached the north. One-size-fits-all regulation is not the answer. Too much regulation is designed around the circumstances of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra and then applied uniformly across the continent.

Why should a regulatory model designed for a large metropolitan market or population centre automatically be right for Kununurra, Derby or the Pilbara? The distances are greater, markets are thinner, workforces are smaller, infrastructure is limited and costs are higher. A regulation that is a minor impost in Melbourne could kill an investment in the Kimberley.

Uniformity is not fairness. National standards do not require identical regulation everywhere. That is why it's time again to think seriously about designated accelerated development areas across northern Australia.

We should identify places of national economic and strategic importance and deliberately create the conditions for investment, development and permanent population growth. A designated development accelerated area could bring together regulatory relief, accelerated coordinated approvals, infrastructure planning and targeted incentives. Instead of proponents navigating multiple agencies, governments and approval processes, give them a coordinated pathway with clear requirements and firm timeframes.

This is not a regulatory free-for-all. Standard should remain high, environmental protection should remain robust, and native title and cultural heritage obligations must be respected. But the process can be faster, clearer and better coordinated.

Tax policy must also be at the heart of this discussion. The zone tax offset has not been indexed for more than two decades. The fringe benefits tax can penalise employers for providing the housing, transport and assistance needed to attract and retain workers in remote communities.

Capital gains tax settings can discourage investment in exploration and emerging industries. We cannot say we want people in investment in northern Australia while maintaining settings that make that harder, nor can infrastructure remain an afterthought. We should identify now the roads, ports, power, water and communications needed to unlock the next generation of development across the Pilbara and the Kimberley.

Infrastructure should not simply follow development. Done properly, it creates development. The Pilbara has already shown what northern Western Australia can deliver for the whole nation.

The Kimberley shows how much more remains possible. Our ambition should be a stronger, more populated and more productive north-west, supporting new industries, strengthening our sovereign capability and carrying a greater share of Australia's future prosperity. Accelerated development zones should be part of this ambition.

Build the infrastructure, tailor regulation to northern conditions, get the tax settings right, give investors certainty and give more Australians a reason to make the north their permanent home. Developing the Pilbara and unlocking the Kimberley is not regional assistance; it's nation building. We know the opportunity.

This report provides some direction. Now, we need the determination to deliver on this ambition. Question agreed to.