Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

) ( ): We all know that we are in an energy transition for this country. Australia has set out ambitious goals to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. We face challenges around attracting investment in new energy to make sure that we can build the manufacturing base of our economy, which so heavily depends on affordable energy, and deliver reliability for the economy so that businesses can invest with confidence, so there can be stability in the grid, and when Australians need to flick the switch the light comes on. Over many years, and recently, we've had a significant transition already. Despite the claims of those on the opposition benches, we've had the biggest rollout of renewable energy this year of any year, and it continues to go on unabated.

Australia is leading the transition to a lower-carbon future, but we also recognise the challenges and the limits of different technologies. I say this as somebody who is so pro-technology—the future is going to be awesome if we embrace technology—but we also have to acknowledge its limits, what things can be done, what things can't be done and what we need to add into the mix. That sense of balance is at the core of our approach to energy in Australia. We understand that Australian households need affordable, reliable energy. We know they want to cut our greenhouse gas emissions because they want to steward a more sustainable environment for their kids and their grandkids. That's everything we are about, which is why we also acknowledge the importance of technologies like gas, fuels that play a critical part in manufacturing to be affordable and to guarantee supply against the intermittency of renewables, which play a critical part of providing for households and low-energy demands, small businesses and even larger businesses, increasingly, with firming power and the backup potential of batteries as well. We want a sustainable solution, so it's an important part of that.

One of the reasons gas is such an important part of it is not because it's an end in itself but because of what it prioritises and enables for the future of energy demand of the country.

Dr Freelander interjecting—

This is the point the member for Macarthur simply doesn't understand. But the Chief Scientist does, and more the power to him. Alan Finkel does a fantastic job in leading the discussion around the power of hydrogen. Why does he like the potential of gas? Because gas so easily enables the transition to a hydrogen based economy. Think about the potential. We could use renewables to create hydrogen and export it to the world, the member for Macarthur. I was at the opening of the Kawasaki plant down in the Latrobe Valley, in Victoria, where we're looking at options to export hydrogen to countries like Japan.

The future of our export industries don't even need to be in fossil fuels. It'll be part of the discussion, but we can also see new opportunities and new horizons. That's because we're interested, this government, in building the Australian economy of the 21st century. Labor's caught in its ideological battles of the old 20th century, capital versus labour, defending the status quo, without understanding the power of leadership. Under this minister and under this Prime Minister, we're looking at how we build the Australian economy of the 21st century and transition from the base load of energy that we've used so much, from brown and black coal, towards gas, because what it will enable is a hydrogen future.

Make no mistake, this is incredibly exciting, the potential of hydrogen to provide transportable and base load energy for the Australian economy at an affordable price and to be exportable, while still using the same technology and infrastructure for generation that can be used for gas that we can build today. We're not just looking at what we need to do to build the future of the economy of Australia today, we're looking at how to futureproof Australia today.

I know that's a big problem for the opposition, who like to wax lyrical about these problems thinking only they are the solution—because this is the problem with the Labor Party. The Labor Party always sees themselves as a solution to the problem—not what we can do together through the power of initiative and ingenuity of the Australian people. What it will help us do is reach our road map, not just for that energy reliability and not just for that energy security but, of course, to reduce the price of energy and to meet our emissions targets.

Australian hydrogen energy could generate more than 8,000 jobs—a critical part of the discussion in the post-COVID recovery—many, critically, in regional Australia, where there is so much opportunity to build up regional centres to be part of the future of the economy of the country and contribute $11 billion in GDP by 2050. It's time to get on board, Labor. It's time to get on board with the future development of the Australian economy. It's time to get on board with building Australia's future.

See this speech in context