Coalition promises to form Investment Australia to speed up major projects
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The news: The Coalition will create a new statutory office within Treasury called Investment Australia if elected, tasking it with streamlining investment facilitation across government.
Opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor, who will announce the proposal in a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday, promised that the new body would be set up within 100 days of taking government and would be furnished with new powers to hold regulators and agencies accountable for project delays.
Investment Australia would bring foreign investment screening and the Takeovers Panel under a single function, reporting directly to the treasurer and Cabinet, and would include the Major Project Facilitation Agency and existing market and infrastructure functions.
The Coalition is also promising to introduce a new bill, Securing Australia as a Financial Centre, to legislate financial services reforms including those related to digital assets regulation and financial advice.
The context: Submissions to the latest federal budget from major investment managers and business groups, including BlackRock, sought an overhaul to foreign investment rules and regulations, warning of red tape and timeline blowouts leading to uncertainty from the investment community.
Taylor will use his speech to tie the new body to keeping costs under control for businesses and investors by reducing regulatory expenses, as well as an effort to tackle "bureaucratic delays" affecting projects with economic benefits for Australia.
What they said: "Investment Australia will be backed by a legislative framework and mandate: to boost our competitiveness and to facilitate investment,” Taylor will say in his speech.
“Within 100 days, we will appoint the Investment Australia Chair and set them to work on a mission to reduce regulatory costs in our key enabling sectors: financial services; construction; and resources and energy.
"Unlocking these sectors supports our plans to restore the dream of home ownership, revive our manufacturing base, bring down the costs of energy, and rebuild small business."
The source: Angus Taylor Press Club speech excerpts
