Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

Keep going! And I welcome the interjections from those opposite as well, because every time they do it they say they've learnt nothing—nothing, after the last 10 years; nothing since the last election. They just still don't get it. The chief executive of the Australian Hydrogen Council has said this is a very welcome injection. And, as it happens, the World Hydrogen Summit is occurring at the moment in Holland, just as we make this announcement. I'm advised it has been very warmly welcomed at the World Hydrogen Summit.

This is so important that a few weeks ago I released the State of hydrogen report. It showed that Australia had the biggest potential pipeline of hydrogen investments—$300 billion—but this was at risk, to be frank, because of policies internationally like the US Inflation Reduction Act. We had to respond. We know that the IEA has said Australia could potentially host up to a quarter of the world's hydrogen projects. Australia could host that, but, again, that was at risk, so the government needed to act.

This is before we even get to the potential for green iron and green steel, which could unleash $65 billion by 2050, a matter that the industry minister has focused on very, very clearly. But we need the green hydrogen industry going to get the green metals industries going as well. I'm happy to confirm to the honourable member that we are focused on and limited to green hydrogen for that.

I also should report to the House about the Guarantee of Origin scheme that we funded last night in the budget with $38 million, so that consumers around the world can see the carbon content of Australian hydrogen. Regardless of the colour, they can see the origin, the carbon content and the antecedents—the energy—which went into that hydrogen, because that is also vital for our ambitions as a hydrogen superpower.

Honourable members interjecting—

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