New bank 'real game-changer', Hockey says

A new Asian investment body will be "a real game-changer" for Australia and the region, Treasurer Joe Hockey has told parliament.

"It's not pie-in-the-sky stuff," he enthused about Australia's proposed membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Mr Hockey was introducing legislation to enable Australia to join the bank with the zeal of a fairground spruiker promising everyone would be a winner.

No one would have guessed from his display that the government was initially reluctant to join, reflecting American concerns that the new body was a Chinese power play.

Mr Hockey said the bank - unlike the World Bank, the IMF and the Asian Development Bank - would fund economic infrastructure rather than poverty alleviation projects.

He said Asia faced a major infrastructure financing gap of $US8 trillion ($A10.84 trillion) over the current decade.

The bank will start with $US100 billion ($A135.53 billion) of authorised capital, with Australia's initial share being $US3.7 billion ($A5.01 billion) - $US738 million ($A1 billion) paid in with the rest "callable".

However, this would have no direct impact on Australia's fiscal balance or net debt because it was buying a shareholding in the bank, Mr Hockey said.

The bank would help build major infrastructure such as railways and ports.

That would increase demand for Australian raw materials and services like engineering.

Then the new infrastructure would help Australian farm products get to new markets.

In turn, Asia's growing middle class would be enriched and some of that new money would be spent in Australia.