North Australia Joint Standing Committee axing fires up Coalition MPs

Led by opposition spokeswoman for Northern Australia Susan McDonald, they say an abandonment of the committee will short-change Australia's future.

"This region represents half of Australia's land mass, is home to 1.3 million people - 16 per cent of those being Indigenous - it produces more than 94 per cent of Australia's bananas, 93 per cent of Australia's mangoes, 12.5 million beef cattle and makes up 90 per cent of Australia's live cattle exports, but it is represented by just 6 per cent of resident politicians," Senator McDonald said.

"It is the frontline for Australia's defence and biosecurity, and the strength of its vast resources provides well-paid jobs, supports the economy and is the backbone of dozens of small regional towns and thousands of associated businesses."

The committee, consisting of government, opposition and independent politicians from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, has investigated the destruction at Juukan Gorge in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and looked into the opportunities and challenges facing traditional owners in the north.

It also helped set up the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

Ms McDonald called for the re-establishment of the committee to ensure the north remained an important, productive region of the country.

"Under Labor's neglect, the people of northern Australia will suffer," she said. "The Prime Minister must act to reverse this decision. I will always stand up for northern Australia, and I call on this government to do the same."

ALSO READ:

According to a News Corp report, the leader of government business Tony Burke, defending the decision in parliament, said regional Australian issues would still be able to be dealt with through the appropriate committee, and that a committee would be set up for First Nations issues.

A spokesman for Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King said the work of the former committee would be conducted by two other committees on industry, science and resources and on regional development, infrastructure and transport.

"The Albanese government is committed to leading a new agenda for development in the north, focused on social infrastructure and community-led development, while still supporting industry to expand and create regional jobs," he said.

Senator Jacinta Price said the most marginalised Indigenous Australians lived in northern Australia, along with biosecurity threats and industries the whole nation depended on, and to think that the government could neglect such an important region was insulting and a betrayal.

"It is an elitist agenda driven by the cities, and we cannot be neglected like this," she said.

She was joined by Senator Matt Canavan, who said the federal government had made its intentions clear that northern Australia would be moved far down the list of priorities, adding that the country would be worse for it.

New Callide MP Colin Boyce said it was an unacceptable decision by the government, considering the north had such untapped potential, abundant resources and an increasingly diverse population.

The former chair of the committee, Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he was extremely disappointed that the new Labor government didn'ot see its importance.

"Most recently we completed the inquiry into the destruction of the Juukan Gorge and in my opinion that was the only committee that could have done that as well as we did," he said.