Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak after such a magnificent speech about the benefits of a good policy to make stuff in Australia. Unfortunately, it isn't this policy. What you heard was the views of what a good policy would do, not what this Labor government has presented to us. We hear about all the magnificent things a great policy can do to make stuff in Australia, but this is the government that put $10 billion into a housing fund and, one year later, has not built a house. That takes a special level of incompetence that only this government can show.

Let's get down to what this bill, the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, has done in reality so far. The Future Made in Reality quantum computer is about paying an American company to build a cybercomputer in Australia. That doesn't sound like 'Made in Australia' to me. Then we had the big Solar Sunshot launch at Liddell in the Hunter Valley where I'm from. What does this government do where we're going to be building green energy, where we're going to be responsible? They fly not one but two private jets to Scone airport—one for the Prime Minister and one for the environment minister. They land their two private jets at this airport that isn't rated for aircraft that heavy, so, instead of the $16,000 landing fee that's meant to be paid, they pay $600 to the local council. They take their motorcades to the electorate, and they stand by best principles. If you're launching a policy that's meant to be marvellous, you put your best companies next to you and you shine in their glory. Who do they put next to them? SunDrive. SunDrive stands there and says: 'This is the greatest policy. We're going to build many solar panels. We're going to electrify and green the entire environment. It's made in Australia, right here.'

But what have we found out since? Approximately half that company's employees have been fired or retrenched since that announcement. They're down to 22 staff. They are lobbying AGL, the company that owns the land, not only to give them the land, give them the water, give them the connections and give them the energy but to build the shed for them because they can't fund the shed at the moment. They are going out there, and they've got a staged plan now. They will import components and assemble in Australia. One day they may be well off enough to actually manufacture in Australia. So are we talking about a future made in Australia or a future assembled in Australia? These actions, of the two things we have committed to, are nothing like what Senator Sheldon was talking about—a good, responsible, promising policy.

This government has an amazing ability to turn great ideas into poor execution and great feelings into rubbish outcomes, and this is just another one. This side of the house is not opposing this bill because we don't believe in the stated outcomes; we're opposing this bill because we know this government won't get it right.