Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

I thank those who have contributed to this debate. I particularly thank the member for Grey for his question and his ongoing commitment to families, businesses and industries that are crucial for jobs and projects across the country, including in Moomba, where I was recently and where we see Santos's gas plant. We have just announced Moomba to be one of six carbon capture and storage projects. That's a world-leading project which will not only sequester 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 a year but also position Moomba for hydrogen production in one of the biggest market opportunities I've seen in my career. The Japanese market is desperately looking for low-emissions hydrogen—clean hydrogen—and ammonia production to feed through existing thermal generators. Moomba is one of a number of sites around Australia where we see great potential for that, which is why we recently committed $15 million towards that project in the member for Grey's electorate.

We're partnering with industry to drive down emissions and at the same time to create export opportunities for Australian workers and Australian businesses. That's all about our understanding of the competitive advantage of this great nation of ours. Low-cost energy that can be exported is absolutely central to the history and future of this great nation—that is central to our energy and emissions reduction policy and shows our deep understanding of these sectors.

Through the budget we committed $58.6 million to support new initiatives to make sure our gas industry is efficient and effective, to unlock supply, to deliver the infrastructure and transportation market that is needed and to empower gas customers. That industry is absolutely central to the 900,000 Australians who work in manufacturing in this country. It's also crucial for firming up the record levels of investment we're seeing in renewables.

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