Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap:

(a) is a comprehensive plan to invest in the technologies we need to bring emissions down, here and around the world;

(b) will accelerate technologies like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, soil carbon measurement, low-carbon materials like steel and aluminium and long duration energy storage; and

(c) will support 130,000 new jobs by 2030 and maintain Australia's position as a world leading exporter of food, fibre, minerals and energy; and

(2) welcomes the Government's focus on technology, not taxes, to secure affordable, reliable energy while at the same time reducing emissions.

I am very pleased to speak in support of Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap. It's a comprehensive plan to invest in the technologies that we need to bring down emissions, create jobs and produce affordable and reliable power. This plan will accelerate the development and export of technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap is expected to guide $20 billion of government investment over the next 10 years and at least $80 billion of total new investment in low-emissions technology in Australia by 2030.

Our plan will support 160,000 jobs by 2030 and avoid approximately 250 million tonnes of emissions by 2040. The road map is part of the Morrison government's plan to reduce emissions through developing new technologies rather than by imposing new taxes on hardworking Australian families and businesses. Our plan will secure Australia's energy future by guaranteeing the delivery of affordable, reliable power whilst ensuring that Australia maintains its position as a world-leading exporter of food, fibre, minerals and energy. At the heart of the road map is a vision that Australia will become a globally recognised leader in low-emissions technology through public and private sector investment in the development and commercialisation of new and emerging technologies.

This framework sets out five priority technologies that Australia has competitive advantage in producing, including hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, soil carbon measurement, low-carbon materials production and low-duration energy storage. For each of these technologies the road map sets out measurable goals, such as aiming to produce hydrogen for under $2 per kilogram and carbon capture and storage at under $20 per tonne of carbon dioxide. This will allow the Commonwealth and the private sector to track Australia's progress in developing economically viable low-emissions technologies. Progress will also be reported annually in the low-emissions technology statement tabled in the parliament.

As the Prime Minister has said, we're not going to tax our way into the new energy economy. Instead, we're going to make smart investments that will power Australia into the future. At the same time, the road map will create thousands of new jobs and help protect and support existing jobs, especially in the manufacturing industry, allowing them to prosper in the years to come.

The coalition government believes that Australia has the capacity to create the energy technologies of tomorrow, and we recognise that there are already many great local businesses and researchers who are leading the way. They're great businesses like Star Scientific, a fantastic business located in Berkeley Vale, in my region on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Star Scientific is a hydrogen research and development company dedicated to creating safe, reliable, affordable energy with zero emissions. The company's key project is a breakthrough technology that enables the conversion of hydrogen into heat without combustion. It's called the Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser, or HERO, which has been patented globally. It addresses the unique challenge of deploying hydrogen for larger-scale industrial purposes.

Just last month I had the pleasure of visiting Star Scientific, alongside the Prime Minister and the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, to announce an investment of $539 million in new, clean hydrogen carbon capture, use and storage projects. It was wonderful to be able to meet, among the many staff we met at Star Scientific that day, two local people, one from the Central Coast and one based in Newcastle, whose names are on that patent. This package that was announced at that visit—$539 million in new, clean hydrogen carbon capture, use and storage projects—includes over $270 million to accelerate the development of four additional clean hydrogen hubs in regional Australia, bringing together hydrogen technology developers, producers and suppliers to collaborate and innovate. Andrew Horvath, the group chairman of Star Scientific, said:

… I really back the Prime Minister and the Minister when they say this is technology driven. Hydrogen is now, hydrogen will be the future fuel. It's inexhaustible, it will dramatically drop in price and it will become the base fuel of the planet.

I'm proud to be part of a government that is working in partnership with the private sector to develop these new technologies, and it's great to see that local businesses on the Central Coast are a great example of an emerging industry right at the forefront.

The Technology Investment Roadmap also sets out our technology-first approach to meet and beat our emissions reduction targets. The Morrison government has a proud record in this area, including by beating our 2020 Kyoto targets, and we're on track to meet and beat our 2030 targets. Between 2005 and 2018 we reduced emissions faster than many similar export oriented economies, including Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United States. The latest data has Australia's total emissions at 19 per cent below 2005 levels. This road map will only accelerate the Morrison government's efforts to reduce emissions, while fostering innovation and economic growth. I commend the Technology Investment Roadmap and this motion to the chamber.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member. Is there a seconder for this motion?

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for raising this important topic. The Technology Investment Roadmap is the government's centrepiece climate policy. We've all heard the slogans—'Technology, not taxes.' There is, in fact, nothing else presented by the government. The policy provides a process to set and achieve, theoretically, technology goals like making hydrogen under $2 per kilo. Progress is measured via low-emissions-technology statements, and the advice on the road map is provided by a ministerial reference panel appointed by the minister and headed by the Chief Scientist, with business leaders and bankers also appointed. In sum, although it's welcome as a method to assess technology readiness, it is wrong to say that this is an emissions reduction plan or an entire way of addressing climate change policy.

The Technology Investment Roadmap in and of itself is not enough, and it is not a comprehensive climate action plan. It lacks accountability and transparency measures and relies on dodgy assumptions. The road map lacks sufficient funding to drive technologies to even have a hope of achieving its stated purpose. To drive technologies down the cost curve, to achieve meaningful emission reductions, it would have been a centrepiece of the budget last night. In the road map, the government aims to promote technology diffusion through leveraging public investment via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Regulator.

The government is hoping to get to net zero using taxpayer money but offered just 0.8 per cent of total budget spend to the environment and climate. Short of the level of spending our trading partners contribute to green initiatives, in their recovery stimulus, in their budgets—for example, the EU target 30 per cent of their spending on green initiatives in their budget and recovery fund—it is a stark contrast. If the government is serious and genuine, it will dramatically increase its spending and focus on clean technologies.

We also have to be very clear that the government is picking winners by throwing money at technologies like carbon capture and storage and blue hydrogen. Let's be clear: carbon capture and storage is like throwing good money after bad. This is an expensive technology that has not delivered results. This is not going to achieve the goals or get us anywhere near net zero. Blue hydrogen is hydrogen made from gas. Again, this is not going to be adequate or accepted by international markets. They want green hydrogen. The only hydrogen that will be economic and clean is if it is made using renewables. To quote former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, 'The only responsible hydrogen is green, and the only use of CCS is limited.' The bulk of public investment and public money should be to deploy technologies via price signals and mechanisms. That way, the market can choose the most efficient path forward so the technologies can work.

We need to look at the modelling that is used in this centrepiece of policy, because it does fall apart under scrutiny. There are grand claims, in relation to jobs and how many millions of tonnes of emissions will be achieved, but there is no detail. The road map does not outline any detail of where the jobs will come from or how they will be created, nor which policies are responsible for what emissions reductions. It does not articulate policy proposals, strategies, modelling or anything that would lend credibility to the claim. There is no discussion of international approaches. There are no case studies. It is simply picking certain technologies.

Sadly, we know from the inquiry into the climate change bills that the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has not been asked by the government to model a pathway to net zero. It begs the question: if you haven't done it by now or asked the department to do it by now, what are you waiting for? It doesn't fill you with confidence that the only policy we have under the government is a policy that may deliver—at the moment, we're on target for a 22 per cent reduction by 2030, and there is a hope that a technology roadmap will deliver us a potential seven per cent to possibly get to 29 per cent. This is in a situation where our trading partners more than double our ambition for emissions reduction by 2030.

Let's be really clear: we need a lot more accountability, a lot more transparency and a lot more commitment to reducing emissions to have any hope of getting to net zero as soon as possible, as the Prime Minister repeatedly says. The technology roadmap is a piece of the puzzle, but it is a long way from the whole puzzle that we need.

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

I rise in this chamber to support the member for Robertson on her motion to recognise that Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap is the comprehensive investment plan we need to bring emissions down through technology and innovation.

As a scientist, I know that you have to have a diversified approach to risk when it comes to new scientific development. We can see that with the COVID vaccine. You can't actually be sure what the outcome is going to be, so you have to have a diversified risk assessment when you're going for new technology, and that is what our low-emissions technology strategy is doing. It's using government to invest in new technology and innovation, which then, once it gets to a commercialisable outcome, unleashes the free market, which will help us to get to where we need with regard to our net zero future. The Technology Investment Roadmap is the country's first concrete plan—the first concrete plan in the history of this country—for getting emissions down with technology. It's practical, it's not pie in the sky, it has goals and solutions that embrace new technologies and it's about partnering with the Australian people to make sure they know what we're doing. It is an investment that is going to have outcomes that benefit not just jobs and our economy but the planet. It is clear that we are now quietly in the midst of an exciting major energy transition to a net zero carbon future. Business knows this, and Australians demand it.

Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap is a plan to create jobs, cut energy costs, and reduce emissions. Affordable, reliable low-emissions energy will be critical to re-establishing a strong economy and supporting jobs as Australia bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The road map is expected to guide $20 billion of a government investment in the next 10 years and drive a further $80 billion of investment in low-emissions technology. This is the way that business works. It needs a kickstart. It needs investment, and then basically that unleashes capability. This investment will accelerate technologies such as hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, soil carbon measurement, low-carbon materials such as steel, and long-duration energy storage as well as potentially support 130,000 jobs by 2030 and avoid 250 million tonnes of emission by 2040.

Our technology-over-taxes approach is already delivering results. We're reducing emissions without imposing new costs on households, businesses, or the economy. This roadmap will continue to help unleash the free market and allow sustainable technologies to compete with the mature resources sector. This is about the plan to transition sensibly and practically to the new energy order that we are seeing right around the world.

I recently visited the G-Store in my electorate. They have been working every day for the last 17 years to deliver renewable energy solutions to the Australian market. I was very delighted to see this innovative business, which is now stepping up with new technologies coming on board to deliver solar panels, heat pumps and batteries in a commercial way to the people of Higgins. I was delighted that, after 17 years, it was time for them to update their store. I was happy to cut the ribbon on their new, updated store. Congratulations to G-Store for the wonderful work they are doing in delivering solutions that are helping to bring emissions down right here in Australia.

Hydrogen is a priority low-emissions technology, and the Morrison government is now backing the sector through almost $1 billion in direct investment. We know that hydrogen—firstly blue, followed by green—is going to be the way of the future, and Australia is in a wonderful position to invest in the future of green hydrogen. With our solar and our wind, we can literally bottle these renewables as green hydrogen and 'ship sunshine', as the former chief scientist Professor Alan Finkel said, to the rest of the world. We know Japan is already working towards a hydrogen led future and other countries in the Asia-Pacific are looking with interest at the memorandum of understanding we have with Japan. Furthermore, we know that countries like Germany in Europe are looking towards hydrogen for their future. There is a market that is emerging, and Australia is getting in at the ground level with important new technologies like hydrogen.

It takes time to transition these technologies, it takes investments and it takes partnerships with commercial outcomes in order to do that. We are now at the point that hydrogen could become a competitive energy source for industry, power and heat generation. These new budget investments will help us reach this goal. Australia is positioning for a new energy order, and we're getting in at the ground level.

Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the chance to talk on this very important topic. Last month I was pleased to have the chance to visit Leeson Group in my electorate. Leeson run a thriving business advancing solar technology and solar farms. Their vision is for Australians to have an abundance of financially accessible energy as we transcend into a future that is no longer harming our planet. It's wonderful to see this innovation and new technology being driven locally within Jagajaga.

But let's be honest: this work is happening despite this government and not because of it and its policy settings. The so-called technology roadmap is a road to nowhere. There's no destination because there's no target. Australia is now the only developed country to not have committed to reaching net zero by 2050, all because the Prime Minister can't convince his own backbench to set ideology aside and focus on the jobs of the future. There are some recent clear examples of this. Just last week, the resources minister vetoed public funding for a windfarm and battery project in Northern Queensland, because, apparently, the technology roadmap does not involve supporting renewable energy and the much needed jobs that come with it. The proponents of this particular project say it will create 247 construction jobs and five ongoing positions. But the minister says support for the project would be inconsistent with the objectives and policies of the Commonwealth government.

Well, Deloitte estimates more than 250,000 Australian jobs can be created as we transition to a clean energy economy. These are the jobs that the government is actively blocking with decisions like the one I've just mentioned. They are the job opportunities that will potentially pass Australia by because this government does not have a genuine plan and a target to support them. Last night's budget was another massive missed opportunity from this government: nothing new on renewables, nothing new on electricity storage, no mention of electric vehicles, nothing for the urgent grid upgrades we need to take advantage of renewables in our system, and no commitment to net zero by 2050. This is a government driven by dangerous ideology, and we are all suffering because of it.

Labor gets it. We know that Australia can be a renewable energy superpower. Our $15 billion national reconstruction fund will allow us to partner with private capital to promote manufacturing and strategic industries, with low-emissions technologies and renewables manufacturing highlighted as a key priority for that investment. What a clear contrast from what we see from this government. They're blocking; we're seeking to invest in these new technologies. We're seeking to create the jobs we need as we come out of this pandemic, while also investing in a clean energy future for all of us. There is our rewiring the nation policy, transforming our ageing electricity grid, so we can get renewable energy to where it is needed and, once again, create jobs—create the jobs that will be there in the future; our $200 million investment in 400 community batteries, so that more people across Australia can benefit from solar; and our tax cuts that will make electric vehicles cheaper along with the commitment to develop Australia's first electric vehicle strategy. We have seen nothing of this scale from the other side—no mention in the budget. Just a technology road map that takes us nowhere.

I have conversation after conversation in my electorate with people who feel almost despondent about where we are nationally on climate change. They feel like we are caught in an endless cycle where this government, driven by ideology and by wanting to have a culture war over how we address climate change, refuses to take the steps that are necessary. I tell them it is difficult. It is really difficult that the Morrison government are not taking the action that we need and are not committing to a net zero target by 2050. One of the things that concern me and that I know concern them most about that is that we are falling further and further behind the rest of the developed world. Our trading partners have these commitments, and they will start penalising us for not having them as well. So for this government to pretend that—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 19:05 to 19:16

Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Toowoomba region is a poster child of this government's 'technology not taxes' approach to driving Australia's energy future. In my electorate we're reaping the rewards of entrepreneurial companies, guided by the best research and newest technologies, investing in power sources across the spectrum—from gas to solar, blue hydrogen and even green hydrogen. We take an energy-agnostic view on the Darling Downs. As a government, we trust Australians. We trust their choices when it comes to energy provision. We know that the future energy landscape must be driven and created by market forces. It will be in the private sector, seeking efficiencies in power usage and water consumption, that reductions in our carbon emissions will be secured. We are willing to invest in what works. Of course, this next chapter in our resource sector story is built off the back of the skills and knowledge from traditional projects like the New Acland Coal Mine, which I still hold out hope will be part of our energy mix going forward. All we're waiting for is the Queensland government to give us the go-ahead for stage 3.

What might be interesting for those who haven't travelled up to the range are the type of companies who are leading the way in developing technology that will reduce emissions going into the future. Take, for example, Mort & Co. This company started 24 years ago as a small, family owned livestock agency before moving into the feedlot game on the Darling Downs. They've grown into a global exporter, with more than 99,000 head of cattle across two sites. At one point, you could stand at the Grassdale Feedlot and see them all in the fantastic facilities they have available. They're also adding value to their business by expanding into fertiliser, and this Australian first system will be operational in July this year, creating extra jobs. The fertiliser will improve the quality of the soil, will offset a large waste component of the business and will, most crucially, add to our ability to increase our carbon capture capacity not just locally but around the state. Mort & Co of their own accord are also formulating a policy to report against their emissions, undertaking a baseline emissions study to inform their sustainability goals in a data driven way. They were encouraged to take this approach, because this government has decided to lead industry with a carrot and not a stick.

The Toowoomba region's uptake of new technologies is also enticing companies from outside of Queensland and even Australia to look to set up shop here. Recently I was able to attend a field day near Norwin on the edge of my electorate to see an innovative Israeli irrigation technology in action. The N-Drip microirrigation system was being tested on a cotton crop planted on a well-established property, and the early results are quite promising. This year, despite there being heavy rainfall, we were seeing somewhere around a 35 per cent reduction in water consumption for the crop with the N-Drip as opposed to a traditional crop. We expect that number to rise to around 55 per cent in dry times. There were a lot of very interested local farmers who came out to see the concept, saw the benefits themselves and are very interested in implementing it.

The technology reduces consumption of that precious resource water. Most importantly, it's a low-pressure system, so it considerably reduces the amount of power used to irrigate. N-Drip's confidence in our 'technology not taxes' approach has also led them to commit to starting manufacturing and recycling the tape system used in the system. I'm very hopeful that that manufacturing takes place in Toowoomba. I think it would be a great story for N-Drip to base there with us. More to come. This will create more jobs, more opportunities and more confidence amongst the local farmers who take up this solution in my local area.

I could go on. I will mention the fantastic work of FKG, who are investing in low emissions shed horticulture and are using solar to power their impressive Pulse Data Centre site. The University of Southern Queensland has researchers, especially within the agricultural space, finding ways to translate their cutting-edge work into on-the-ground applications.

Going forward, I'm hopeful we can continue to grow the Toowoomba region's energy legacy, especially the opportunities arising from this government's investment in clean hydrogen. With our proximity to existing gas pipeline networks and experienced businesses already interested in stepping up, I truly believe we could offer a strong case to host a hub on the Darling Downs, a case I've already put to the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, on a recent visit to Toowoomba. He came out to the TSBE energy awards at Dalby. As the member for Groom, representing my electorate, I believe technology will drive our region's future. I'm backing businesses to rise to the challenge of emissions reduction.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government's approach to renewable energy, like in so many other areas of policy, is all announcement and no delivery. When I was considering the Technology Investment Roadmap, it reminded me of the Holy Roman Empire, which one historian said was neither holy, Roman nor an empire! This has little to do with technology, has little investment and has no road map. I thought to myself: what does a road map entail? What are the core elements of a road map? Firstly, a road map should have a destination. Secondly, a road map should have a route or a strategy to get to that destination. Thirdly, a road map should explain the resources necessary to get from point A to point B.

Well, this plan is supposed to be all about emissions reduction, but this government refuses, time and time again, to commit to zero net emissions by 2050. This government refuses to commit to a destination. How can we possibly have a road map and how can we possibly get to where we need to go if we refuse to set a destination? All of the individual policies this government talks about are limited in their own right, but they fail because there is no overarching framework; no defined destination.

Secondly, there is no overarching strategy. What we have is a wish list of technology, but there is no clarity in terms of the route to get to whatever the destination might be that this government intends to get to. We have a wish list of technology but, as Llewelyn Hughes, associate professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, said, 'The road map sets a range of targets but scrupulously avoids putting any time frame around when they should be met.' He continues:

… the roadmap provides no detail on how the government decided which technologies to target. There also is no information enabling an independent assessment of the expected reduction in carbon emissions and increased economic activity—

from the choice of different technologies. It's a road map without a destination and without a route.

Just as importantly, it's a road map that doesn't have enough resources to get to the destination, whatever that might be. The total package of funding provided under the government's Technology Investment Roadmap was $1.6 billion over 10 years. If there's one thing about this government it's that when they announce strategy over 10 years rather than the traditional forward estimates you know it's not about them being long-term thinkers. It's about them applying the same amount of funding they originally had in mind but putting it over a 10-year period and not a four-year period. When they announce funding over 10-year horizons it's not long-term thinking; it's about them being cheapskates. In this budget, what did we see? A further $279.9 million, again over 10 years, to provide baseline crediting mechanisms. Under $28 million per year over a decade when this government, across a range of spending, is building up over $1 trillion in debt.

Their emphasis on emissions abatement is simply not good enough. If I look at my electorate, there are a number of industries, including manufacturing, which rely upon cheap and reliable energy—not just reliable in the short term, as in over the next weeks and months, but reliable in the long term. We need reliable sources of energy that will withstand changes in regulatory arrangements and changes in the need to abate carbon emissions. Yet what we have seen in manufacturing across this country over the last decade shows that this government is simply not doing enough to support a very energy-intensive industry.

Real manufacturing output has declined for the last 11 years—before the pandemic. We know that the pandemic has wrought considerable damage on this economy, but, even before the pandemic, manufacturing was in significant trouble. Last year, in fact, only 6.4 per cent of jobs came from manufacturing. That's one in 16. That is in sharp contrast to where this country used to be just a few decades ago. Australia's manufacturing sector has the lowest share across OECD nations, and it's continuing to decline under this government. This government needs to put in place a genuine energy strategy if manufacturing is to thrive. We need an energy strategy that not only provides cheaper energy but provides it within a framework that moves this economy forwards to zero net emissions by 2050, like every other major advanced economy. This road map doesn't provide a destination, it doesn't provide a route and it doesn't provide the resources to get to wherever it's trying to get to. It's not really a road map.

Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia is fortunate to have a beautiful and diverse natural environment. From the sandy shores of Sydney's beaches to the desert plains of Western Australia and everything in between, this land is truly amazing. With this great fortune, though, comes great responsibility. We must protect these natural wonders from the damage of climate change and preserve them for the next generation. History will be unkind to those who ignore the impact that global greenhouse emissions are having on our environment. Climate change is not something we can ignore. The Black Summer bushfires were an awful reminder of the effect that rising global temperatures are having on our planet. No Australian can forget those fires—the tragedy of the fires, the homes destroyed, the smell of smoke as it covered our cities, and those horrific images of the country burning on our television screens each night.

It is critical we act now and utilise technology to lower our emissions and tackle the effects of climate change. This is what the Technology Investment Roadmap is doing. Australia's road map is a plan to reduce emissions while also creating jobs and cutting costs. Our technology-first approach will see Australia meet and beat our emissions reduction commitments, because in Australia we do have a good record of tackling climate change. Australia now has the highest solar capacity per person of any country in the world. We beat our 2020 Kyoto targets and we are on track to meet and beat our 2030 target, as we said we would at the last election. Between 2005 and 2018, we reduced emissions faster than many similar export-orientated economies, including Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United States. The latest data has Australia's total emissions at 19 per cent, below 2005 levels. My constituents want action. They know this is possible without imposing taxes.

Our technology-not-taxes approach is already delivering results. We are reducing emissions without imposing new costs on households, businesses or the economy. The road map is expected to guide $20 billion of government investment over the next 10 years and drive at least $80 billion of total new investments in low-emissions technologies in Australia by 2030. Our plan will support 130,000 jobs by 2030 and avoid in the order of 250 million tonnes of emissions by 2040. Investing in low-emissions technology will contribute to Australia's continued success in meeting and beating our emissions reduction targets. Getting new energy technologies to parity will enable substantial reductions in global emissions in both developing and developed countries.

Through the 2021-22 budget, we are investing in the future Australian hydrogen industry, with $275.5 million for four additional clean hydrogen export hubs in regional Australia. This builds on investment for an initial hub in the 2020-21 budget. Hubs are regions where hydrogen users, producers and exporters are co-located. Hubs seek to concentrate demand for hydrogen in one geographic region, helping to reduce costs and share information. The Morrison government funding for hydrogen hubs is expected to leverage significant co-investment from the private sector, state and territory governments, and international counterparts. Hydrogen is a priority low-emissions technology, and the Morrison government is now backing the sector through almost $1 billion in direct investment. This funding will advance the goals of the Technology Investment Roadmap as we ramp up our effort to reduce emissions while supporting economic growth and lowering energy costs. We want Australia to be a world leader in the hydrogen industry. An Australian hydrogen industry could generate more than 8,000 jobs, many in regional areas, and over $11 billion a year in GDP by 2050. That's why we worked with all states and territories to release Australia's National Hydrogen Strategy in November 2019, because we know that one level of government will not solve this issue; to tackle climate change, we need a holistic approach that brings together all levels of government, industry and every Australian. We can only prevent the effects of climate change if we act together. (Time expired)

Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for the debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:32