Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion proposed by my good friend and colleague the member for Goldstein. As I highlighted in my first speech, the threats of climate change are very real and affecting us all. That is why I am proud the Morrison government is unequivocally committed to the global push to tackle the challenges posed by the changing climate. Around the world, we are seeing countries with the strongest ambitions towards a low-emissions future relying on innovative and renewable technologies to achieve their goals. Under the leadership of the Morrison government, our plan is no different.

The Morrison government are aware of both the environmental and the economic necessity of a clean and sustainable energy sector, which is why we've developed a clear and comprehensive plan in the Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap, prioritising new and emerging technologies that will support jobs, drive our economic recovery and, vitally, reduce emissions. Our strategy is underpinned by the ongoing development and deployment of low-emissions technology to reduce carbon emissions and achieve our international obligations in combating the effects of climate change. Deploying the appropriate technology when and where it is required will allow Australian industry to capture these new opportunities—with enormous potential in low-emissions technology like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, biofuels and resources, and energy export to reduce emissions—whilst simultaneously strengthening our economy.

It's not just about talk; it's about walking the walk. And that is why I'm very proud of the fact that we have identified, as a government, five priority technology stretch goals. The reason why this is important is that we need to partner with business and new technology to make sure that the strategy to get there is partnered with the free market. And I'm very pleased to say that the Biden administration too has taken on these five stretch goals for low-emissions technology. They've added a sixth one, but they have included the first five. These ones, basically, will provide a comparative advantage for Australia.

The first of those is clean hydrogen under $2 per kilogram, and we've already signed memorandum of understandings with the Japanese government about our hydrogen future. The second stretch goal is energy storage electricity for firming at under $100 per megawatt hour. The third is low-carbon materials, including low-emission steel production, at under $900 per tonne and low-emission aluminium at under $2,700 per tonne. These stretch goals are incredibly important because you need to partner an economically sensible and rational approach with an environmental outcome that's going to be good for the planet. The fourth stretch goal is carbon dioxide compression, hubs transport, and storage under $20 per tonne of CO2. The fifth and final, which I know the farmers and regional and rural areas of Australia will be very pleased about, is soil carbon measurement at under $3 per hectare per year. Australia is a big continent with a lot of topsoil, and the quality of our topsoil can be improved by carbon farming. With these pragmatic and technology focused ambitions, we can also grow our economy and create jobs, all while creating a green and sustainable future for generations to come.

Our strategy is working, and we are achieving results. In 2020 we met and beat our Kyoto targets by 459 million tonnes, and that was without using carryover credits. Moreover, the recently released December 2020 forecasts further demonstrate our credentials on climate action, with Australia on track to meet and beat its 2030 Paris targets. Indeed, over the past two years, our position against our 2030 target has improved by 630 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking all of Australia's 14.7 million cars off the road for 15 years.

There is so much more to do. There is so much more with regard to getting behind the new technologies that are coming online. I really call on all Australians to embrace new and emerging technologies. That includes solar panels, with us having the highest uptake of solar panels per capita in the world, but also using other forms of technology, which includes things like low-voltage metres that can be applied to households and to businesses. I have such a business like that in Higgins. This helps to bring down the voltage requirements for your business or for your home and therefore brings down the cost of energy as well. It's important that all Australians get behind these new technologies, because it's also about the consumer use and uptake of these affordable and reliable technologies.

Our clear and comprehensive plan as a government is to reduce emissions by investing in technology, not through taxes, and continuing to back our strong economic recovery out of the COVID recession, as this will create new jobs for the sector—up to 130,000—by 2030 by investing in new technology.

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