Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about climate change and the renewable energy space in Australia. Labor is the only party of government that is committed to real action on climate change. We on this side know that strong climate action is needed to protect the prosperity of future generations of Australians and to meet our international obligations under the Paris climate change accords but also to deliver prosperity today by modernising our economy and adapting to inevitable climate impacts. It is the very core of this issue. The issue of climate change is about jobs, supporting regional jobs and manufacturing.

Labor's approach to climate change policy will continue to be guided by the best science available and to be underpinned by Labor's values of equality and fairness. Our approach is to focus on the development of policies that would not only cut pollution but ensure we maximise the job and economic opportunities of a modern economy. In contrast, the Liberal and National parties have paid nothing more than lip service to real action on climate change. Their approach to climate change is best demonstrated not by their rhetoric but by their actions, including a commitment to more job-destroying pollution.

The world energy authority says Australian's hydrogen imports into Japan could be cheaper than domestic production by 2030. This means Australia has a golden opportunity to sell its product to its Asian neighbours. Hydrogen can be produced with no greenhouse gas emissions if the process is powered by renewable energy or fossil fuels when the resulting carbon is captured and stored. My home state of Tasmania is a renewable energy powerhouse. As Bill Shorten said in 2019—

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Polly. Remember to call members in the opposite place by their correct title.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Bill won't mind.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley! Call members by their correct title.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Bill Shorten said, in 2019, in Launceston: 'The potential to be a renewable energy superpower, Tasmania can manufacture hydrogen and export it to the world,' but only if the member for Bass were to stand up and actually fight for jobs in northern Tasmania. It seems that only Labor is committed to investing in renewable energy projects like the proposed hydrogen production facility at Bell Bay, which is a perfect example of the opportunity that exists. Once complete, the proposed facility would invest in a process called electrolysis, splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen. The product can then be sold as liquid hydrogen or combined with nitrogen to create ammonia.

The regional development ramifications for a project like this are huge. An estimated 500 to 1,000 jobs could be created and the flow-on effect to other businesses and service providers would be ongoing. It is estimated that hydrogen could provide one-quarter of northern Tasmania's export growth over the next 10 years, and Labor understands the opportunities that are at play here—not just for the proposed facility but for the broader Tasmanian economy.

The Tasmanian state Liberal government has announced the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan. This export market is expected to be worth up to $13.4 billion by 2040. The last time a renewable hydrogen project was mentioned to the federal member for Bass, all she could say was Labor was politicising the issue. Well, frankly, that line just doesn't hold water. At the moment, the federal member for Bass does not seem to rate this project and is only interested in the politics of spin, fear and dishonesty. I don't understand why she's not in lockstep with and does not support her own Liberal state colleague, the Minister for Energy, Mr Guy Barnett.

Tasmania and Australia cannot afford to delay in investing in jobs of the future. Government must build a framework for the future with the private sector so there are jobs in the services sector, the agriculture sector, the tourism sector and the aquaculture sector—the sectors that have made Tasmania richer over the decades. But what we see from this government is no vision, no economic plan for the future and certainly no vision from the federal member for Bass, for Tasmania, in ensuring that we have jobs and we're job ready for the future. It's so disappointing. (Time expired)