Four months on and questions over $91.5m promise
THE Territory Opposition has called on the Gunner Government to explain why it’s $91.5 million co-investment Local Jobs Fund promised last December has stalled
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THE Territory Opposition has called on the Gunner Government to explain why its $91.5 million co-investment Local Jobs Fund promised last December has stalled.
Deputy Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the Government needs to tell Territorians what the outcomes of the Local Jobs Fund were.
“Where is the money, and what has it been spent on,” she said. “The $91.5 million came from winding up the NT Infrastructure Development Fund with half going towards the Local Job Fund and the other $100 million went to paying off debt, but there’s been no discernible programs or initiatives that have come out of it so far.”
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In its December announcement, the Government said a suite of four products would be offered by the Fund.
It said applications to the Local Jobs Fund will open in early 2019 and would be assessed by the Department of Trade, Business and Innovation with advice from an Expert Advisory Panel.
The expert panel was also going to be announced “early in 2019”.
“Labor was quick to spruik its jobs fund as being designed to attract and support private investment opportunities crucial to growing and diversifying the economy, but we haven’t heard another peep about it,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the Fund would start to invest in job-creating projects in the coming months.
“The Local Jobs Fund is receiving strong interest from Territory businesses and will create hundreds of local jobs for Territorians,” he said.
Yesterday the Department’s website said: “The Northern Territory Government is establishing a $89 million co-investment fund to accelerate major and significant projects in the Territory. Applications to the Local Jobs Fund will open in early 2019.”
“Where are the ‘immediate’ jobs Labor promised from the Local Jobs Package,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
“Where are the 14,000 new jobs every year that were promised by Labor on coming to Government?”
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