Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, with respect to the deal that Labor has done with the Greens this week, 84 per cent of the 215 facilities that will be penalised under this deal are located in rural and regional Australia. Can you outline for me how this fund will assist them to deal with the sustainability issues as a result of your deal with the Greens on the safeguard mechanism?

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Minister, given the deal that you've done with the Greens to severely impact 215 facilities across the nation, 84 per cent of which are located in rural and regional communities—not just providing national product and benefit but underpinning the social and economic wealth of these regions—I want to understand how this fund will now be used, and if it is envisaged to be used, to sustain those companies and facilities that are going to be severely impacted by the safeguard mechanism deal that you've done with the Greens, and how will that interact? Will there be specific weighting to those businesses that have been severely impacted?

How are you going to ensure the sustainability of the existing manufacturing facilities in rural and regional communities, given the deal you've done with the Greens will see higher energy and electricity prices in this country? You've said it all afternoon, but 'downward pressure' with a hand movement doesn't make it happen. The laws of physics still apply. The laws of economics still apply, and what all serious economic commentators are saying about the deal that you've done with the Greens is that it will see an increase in energy prices. Your own head of the AWU, the fantastic young Daniel, absolutely states it is critical to maintain employment in advanced manufacturing in this country whilst we move towards a more low-emissions environment.

I want to understand the interaction and how the NRF is envisaged to change as a result of the deal that you've done, and the consequential impact on rural and regional advanced manufacturers.