Slow burn: Queensland still waits for proof of Coalition's $5bn northern Australia promise

Tony Abbott’s solution to kickstart job creation has only funded three projects and released $40m in four years

It’s almost as old as the Coalition government but the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, Tony Abbott’s $5bn solution to reinvigorating the north, can only lay claim to three funded projects.

The Naif was once again the subject of criticism last week when, in response to a question on notice, the government was forced to admit that just under $40m had been released for projects in four years. What was to be its biggest spend – $1bn for a rail line linking the Adani Carmichael coalmine to the Gladstone port – was rejected by the Queensland state government, which has to sign off on any infrastructure spend.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2murrr9