Barnaby Joyce has another chance this week to report to Parliament on the implementation of the White Paper on Developing Northern Australia.
He was supposed to do it last week[1][2].
Instead, he told five minutes’ worth of jokes at a private event.
The White Paper released by the Conservatives in 2015 commits the Deputy Prime Minister to:
“give an annual statement to Parliament on progress.”
White Paper on Developing Northern Australia, p 10
Barnaby Joyce told the NT News he did this.
Ah, no he didn’t. A quick check of Hansard will prove that.
A five minute speech at a private event is not a statement to Parliament.
Barnaby is acting like a seat warmer. He doesn’t take this job seriously and the people of Northern Australia deserve better.
The previous Minister for Northern Australia fronted the Parliament, before he resigned because of the cloud over his citizenship.
The conservatives talked big and promised big in Northern Australia, but they’ve delivered very little.
Two and a half years after the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility was announced and Barnaby Joyce still hasn’t signed off on funding for any NAIF projects in Northern Australia.
No wonder he didn’t give the update to Parliament last week.
MONDAY, 23 0CTOBER 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: KORENA FLANAGAN: 02 9790 2466
[1] “48. Annual Statement to Parliament – The Australian Government delivered a progress statement on the northern Australia development agenda on 11 October 2016. The 2017 Annual Statement was delivered on 17 October 2017” Developing Northern Australia 2017 Infrastructure Report, Page 27.
[2] “Second Annual Statement to Parliament” Key northern Australia milestones 2015-2017, Developing Northern Australia 2017 Infrastructure Report, Page 2
