Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment (Extension and Other Measures) Bill 2021

The majority voted against amendments that would have included in the bill a ban on giving assistance to new fossil fuel projects. The amendments were introduced by Queensland Senator Larissa Waters (Greens).

What does the bill do?

According to the bills digest, the bill was introduced in order to:

• extend the period when the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (the Facility) can issue financial assistance
• expand who the Facility can give assistance to, and how it provides this assistance
• add the Finance Minister as a responsible minister for the Facility and
• change some governance arrangements in relation to the Facility.

Currently, the purpose of the Facility is:

...to provide financial assistance to the states and territories for the construction of economic infrastructure in Northern Australia. It does this through providing concessional loans and guarantees.