$1 BILLION FOR 850 “POTENTIAL JOBS” UNDER LABOR’S NRF
The Hon Alex Hawke MP
Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation
Manager of Opposition Business in the House
MEDIA RELEASE
13 December 2025
$1 BILLION FOR 850 “POTENTIAL JOBS” UNDER LABOR’S NRF
The key industry fund behind the Albanese Labor Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda has spent over $1 billion to create just 850 “potential jobs.”
Under questioning from the Opposition in Senate Estimates, CEO of the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), Mr David Gall, confirmed that the mega fund had spent $1.02 billion over 17 investments.
But when asked by Senator Jane Hume how many jobs had been created to date, Mr Gall said, “The work that we've done will, we believe, create approximately 850 additional jobs.”
When pressed on whether any of the jobs had been created, Mr Gall confirmed they hadn’t, stating, “Those are potential jobs that we will continue to monitor and measure overtime.”
Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation, Alex Hawke, said the NRF was a dud.
“Only Labor could spend a billion dollars of taxpayers' money and have nothing to show for it,” Mr Hawke said.
“This latest shocking revelation about the NRF means that taxpayers have paid over $1 billion for just 850 "potential jobs” - that’s $1 million a job.
“Labor’s NRF is very good at pumping out slick media releases and organising cocktail functions, but not very good at much else.
“This shocking jobs data comes on top of yet more governance breaches, with revelations that that NRF board member and close personal friend of Minister Tim Ayres, Mr Glenn Thompson, has been posting party political material to social media.
“Instead of getting its house in order, Minister Ayres is in the process of changing the NRF’s Investment Mandate so it can sink more money into risky bailouts.”
Recently, the NRF has spent $81 million on on debt deals for Patties Food Group, which produces Four’n Twenty meat pies, and The Arnott’s Group, which produces Tim Tams.
ENDS
BACKGROUND
Extract of Senate Estimates transcript, Economics Legislation Committee, Thursday, 4 December 2025, page 102
Senator HUME: Mr Gall, I have a couple more questions specifically about how much the NRF has invested so far.
Mr Gall: We've invested $1.02 billion.
Senator HUME: To date, how many jobs has the National Reconstruction Fund created?
Mr Gall: The 17 investments that make up that $1.02 billion and the work that we've done will, we believe, create approximately 850 additional jobs.
Senator HUME: You've invested $1.02 billion for 850 jobs; is that right? And those are potential jobs, not actual jobs?
Mr Gall: Those are potential jobs which we will continue to monitor and measure over time. I should say that is one of the factors that we're looking at in terms of the public policy outcomes that the fund is looking to achieve. That's in addition to the commercial returns that we expect the fund to produce.