Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

'A future made in Australia'—this is more than a headline. This is something that is in the blood of this government, and we're working every day to achieve that. I commend the member for Bennelong for bringing this wonderful motion to the House. I strongly support this motion because I believe in a future made in Australia.

The global economy is changing, and we need to secure Australia's place in it. We need to act urgently so that Australia is not left behind. Labor has embraced the challenge, unlike the previous government—years of inaction, neglect and wasted opportunities. And let's face it: the pathway to net zero emissions goes right through WA. Under the Liberals, manufacturing ground to a halt. It's astonishing that Australia procures 68 per cent of what we use. This has put Australia in last place in the OECD. 'Self-sufficiency' was not in the vocabulary of the Liberal Party. In two years, Labor has made enormous progress to put measures in place to turn this around.

Labor's focus is on securing a future for Australia. The Liberals had no focus. I expect the opposition will oppose this motion because that's all that they know how to do. There is a policy vacuum on that side of the House. They say no to anything; they say no to everything. They say no to creating a better future for Australia, and they say no to creating a future made in Australia, because they've got nothing else to offer. Instead Labor has supercharged investment in renewable hydrogen. There is $6.7 billion over a decade for new production tax incentives and $2 billion in the new round of the successful Hydrogen Headstart program. We're expanding funding for the Critical Minerals Facility to $6 billion, and we're establishing a $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia innovation fund. We've established Solar Sunshot to capture more of the global solar manufacturing supply chain, with more production credits worth about $1 billion. That is not just an example; this is something that the Labor government is doing to supercharge our clean energy future and increase the capacity of our country.

The member for Bennelong includes in his motion a commendation for further actions this government is taking to secure Australia's future. There's one that I'm super thrilled about. I'm passionate about STEM: science, technology, engineering and maths. I'm passionate about STEM because investment in STEM will build a future made in Australia. I'm also passionate about more diversity in STEM. We need more women to make STEM more representative in this country. Diversity is a strength. This is something that we learn in ecology and biology, but it applies to the parliament and also to our workforces. Diversity will mean better outcomes for all Australians. New methods of research, new explanations, new ideas and new perspectives will help us find different pathways to solving complex problems. I think this is really exciting, and we need to see that the diversity that we've seen in the 47th Parliament happen in our workplaces where we have STEM professionals. I applaud the government for investing $38.2 million over eight years for diversity in STEM programs. This funding will mean existing STEM programs that focus on women and science engagement will receive additional funding. This is what we need to do to reach more diverse cohorts and encourage them into STEM careers and to stay in those careers.

It's also interesting to see what we're doing in the renewable technology space. As we said, the global economy is changing and we can either be left behind or we can be a part of it. There is an advantage in making sure we are not the laggards, and we need to make sure we do this so we can actually make progress, make financial contributions and have financial success with our investment in renewable energy and our pathway to net zero emissions. It's something that will result in better investment in Australia, but it's something that Western Australia will particularly benefit from. I think we all agree that we need to see action on climate change, but we also need to see the sophistication of the Australian economy increase, and that's what the Future Made in Australia will do. I commend this motion to the House.

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