Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government, and Territories. What action is the Albanese Labor government taking to support regional Australia, including through the creation of a homegrown, low-carbon liquid fuel industry, and what approaches has the government rejected?

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Hunter for that question. Not only is he a towering advocate for his community—he's also pretty tall—but he knows that a future made in Australia will be good for all regional Australia, particularly in the Hunter. Labor's plan for a future made in Australia is simple. We want Australia to be a country that makes more things here because making more things here will help our economy grow. It will help to create good jobs in rural and regional Australia. You should not have to pack your bags to build a career.

Under our Future Made in Australia plan, one of our priority initiatives is the development of the Australian low-carbon liquid fuel industry. It will fast track support for sustainable fuel with an initial focus on aviation fuel and renewable diesel, which will support emissions reduction in transport, mining, manufacturing and agriculture. Currently, 60 per cent of Australia's canola exports go to Europe to be used to produce biofuels—400 kilotons of our tallow. We can do that here, and the industry agrees with us. GrainCorp said:

… federal budget funding for low carbon fuels initiatives playing into its strategy to become a major player in the renewable fuels supply chain.

In their Future Made in Australia submission, the NFF said:

The NFF has long supported the development of the Australian bioenergy and Low Carbon Liquid Fuels (LCLF) industries, with Australian agriculture playing an important role in the supply chain …

Just last week, when I was in the member for Riverina's electorate, a beautiful part of the world, I spoke to locals in Wagga who said this exact thing—that they want to take advantage of this initiative to benefit their local economy. They know—just like we do—that regional communities stand to benefit from a future made in Australia.

We're already seeing tangible outcomes, such as the MOU between Ampol, GrainCorp and IFM, to explore establishing Australia's own integrated renewable fuels industry, including the supply of local, homegrown feedstocks. But the Nationals can't yet convince the Liberals to stop saying no to everything. The Liberal Party dismissed the policy as billions for billionaires failing to understand the importance of working with the private sector to build new Australian industries and to create more jobs in our region.

Those opposite, led by the shadow Treasurer, who calls support for Australian industries a 'wasted effort' or 'billions for billionaires'. They just don't understand the importance of working with the industry. It's hardly surprising from a group that chased car manufacturers offshore and called Australian manufacturing a graveyard. That's not how you deliver for regional communities. On this side of the House, we have a government with a positive plan for Australia that supports Australian industries, supports Australian jobs and supports Australian training. (Time expired)