An elected Coalition Government will provide a major boost to infrastructure financing in the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
The total funding available through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) in loans and grants will increase from $4 billion to $6 billion. This will help to ensure Australia is the financing and infrastructure development partner of choice in our region.
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, David Coleman, said the AIFFP was created by the Coalition Government in 2019 and had been enormously successful in helping our Pacific and Timor-Leste neighbours to finance critical infrastructure projects.
"The facility has provided a major economic boost to Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste by financing projects that contribute to higher living standards, sustainable economic growth," Mr Coleman said.
"The economic prosperity of our region is fundamental to our shared vision for an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The Coalition will build on the successful model it created through the AIFFP to work with partners in the region to drive major projects which deliver for the Pacific and Timor-Leste."
Mr Coleman said the AIFFP is financing major projects like the $621 million AUD investment in Papua New Guinea ports infrastructure and other ports projects in Tuvalu and Tonga, as well as airport infrastructure upgrades in Timor-Leste, Fiji and Nauru amongst a raft of other projects.
"Infrastructure financing has become yet another battleground for influence in our region," Mr Coleman said.
"Australia's financing supports infrastructure capability, jobs and better services for Pacific Island nations and their communities in a way that is both transparent, and in the interests of those communities.
"Our commitment is to increase the lending headroom of the Facility from $3 billion to $5 billion, with the remainder available in grants through Australia's Official Development Assistance program.
"A larger AIFFP under a future Coalition Government will work to further strengthen Australia's partnerships with nations across the Pacific and Timor-Leste. It will complement the defence, security and other economic ties which were at the core of the Coalition's Pacific Step-up when last in Government."
Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Michael McCormack, said the Coalition had a long and proud history of delivering real, lasting infrastructure for our Pacific neighbours
"The Coalition understands the power of infrastructure to change lives. It can improve health outcomes, create jobs, build stronger more resilient economies and open up new opportunities.
"The AIFFP is a practical demonstration of our commitment to remaining the partner of choice for our Pacific neighbours and to supporting security, stability, and economic recovery in our region."
