Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan said the Turnbull government would pay a political price for backing dud projects from the $5 billion infrastructure fund, saying it would not be used to pork-barrel ahead of this year's election.
Senator Canavan, who was promoted to the ministry in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, said the "devil will be in the detail" when assessing projects bidding for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund, which will start to allocate money from   July 1. 
Amid fears the fund could be used to back unviable projects in the Top End, Senator Canavan said a board of commercially minded experts would assess the suitability of projects pitched by state and territory governments as well as the private sector.
The Rockhampton-based senator said it was not in the Turnbull government's interest to back projects that were going to go belly up. He cited the Cairns Airport, expansion of the Port of Townsville and water infrastructure as worthy recipients of taxpayer funding.
"All of these projects are the kind we will be looking to support, but obviously the devil will be in the detail," Senator Canavan told The Australian Financial Review.
"I'm very mindful to make sure we take a commercial and hard-headed approach to this. That's why we will set up a suitably qualified commercial board so we are looking at financial, not political, outcomes."
Senator Canavan said he was keen for the infrastructure facility - which will offer concessional loans for projects at lower interest rates than commercial banks - to last beyond the five-year period allocated in the legislation.
"I want to see it last for decades, but it's not going to do that unless we make a go of the first investments we make. If they turn out to be duds, I'm sure the government and the Parliament won't support its continuation," he said.
The rise of a Queensland LNP senator to the role of Northern Australia Minister has been welcomed north of the Tweed, but as Senator Canavan noted, there was parochialism within parts of Queensland, let alone in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
He said he knows regional Queensland well, but steers clear of a couple of favourite pet projects of some National party colleagues in Canberra, namely special economic zones for regional areas and a government mutual to counter high insurance premiums in north Queensland.
The legislation for the infrastructure facility will be tabled in Parliament next month, with money to start flowing from mid-year.
A group of infrastructure and financing experts will be allocated to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Board to vet the projects, but Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia Minister Josh Frydenberg will have final veto over the projects that are chosen.
An interim board would be picked soon, with support from the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, which helps provide loans for exporters.
Senator Canavan said he had no problems with allocating taxpayer fund to projects such as the privately owned Cairns Airport, which is owned by a consortium of JP Morgan and Hastings Funds Management.
"The key issue we need to be convinced of is that what we are doing is supporting additional infrastructure that would otherwise not have been built," he said.
"The government doesn't have an objection to the private sector building infrastructure. This is just to help those projects get across the line. This is an innovative approach to developing a particular part of this country."
Wagners chairman John Wagner, whose family company spent $200 million building Australia's first new airport in 50 years, west of Brisbane, has warned of the potential red tape. But Mr Frydenberg said they'd make sure the process is streamlined for the loans that will paid back to the Commonwealth.
Key points
$5 billion government fund to back infrastructure projects
in northern Australia.
Low interest loans to be vetted by a panel of experts for both public and private projects.