The Northern Territory Chief Minister is seeking clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister about where jobs for a new $8 million biosecurity facility in Darwin will come from.
Last Friday, Barnaby Joyce indicated the jobs would be sourced from Geelong, where the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) is based.
"This facility at Berrimah will help us replace some of the work that we are currently doing at Geelong," Mr Joyce said while outlining plans to develop northern Australia and to decentralise Commonwealth departments.
"So we are moving jobs and work from Melbourne to Darwin. And that's a good outcome for the north."
But Mr Joyce said on Wednesday that no jobs would be lost in Geelong.
"[We are] expanding the jobs that would be happening in Darwin that otherwise would be happening in Victoria," Mr Joyce said.
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner sought clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister.
"Last week they were coming from Geelong. This week they're not," Mr Gunner said.
"So [Barnaby Joyce] has confirmed the investment, he's confirmed the jobs.
"There appears to be now a difference of opinion with himself about where those jobs are coming from."
Mr Gunner said he still did not know how many Commonwealth public servant roles would be required at the facility.
"The recurrent [funding] for the jobs is coming from within the Commonwealth budget, so there wasn't additional [funding]," Mr Gunner said.
"That's where I think the Deputy Prime Minister's got himself into trouble, but he can explain what he's done."
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett weighed into the debate yesterday, prior to Mr Joyce's office confirming there would be no job losses in Geelong.
"You would have thought Barnaby would have enough on his plate without undermining a highly professional outfit in Geelong," he wrote on Twitter.
"Sadly BJ has a track record in such moves."
In a statement, Mr Joyce's spokesman said: "The investment will create more jobs for scientists, including in the Northern Territory, increasing overall capacity for biosecurity diagnostics in Australia.
"There will be no impact on the workload of AAHL given the projected increase in the need for biosecurity diagnostic testing and AAHL's role in doing confirmatory testing as an international reference laboratory."
