David Van (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As most, if not all, senators in here will know, I have an abiding interest in national security. One of our greatest vulnerabilities with regard to our national security is fuel security. Australia has only 30 days of liquid fuels onshore. In the event of an outbreak of war, we wouldn't even need to be involved to be brought to our knees. That's why I was pleased to see money being made available for low-carbon fuels in the Future Made in Australia program in the budget the other night—that is, sustainable aviation fuels as well as biodiesel. This is an important initiative and one that needs to be taken as seriously as the production of renewable energy via solar panels or wind, or through the production of hydrogen. This is a vulnerability that Australia cannot live with and we should not be looking at doing anything but accelerating how we address it.

Currently, the RAAF's target is to have 65 per cent SAF by 2050. Surely the ADF can be more ambitious in having a target for all its fuel use much faster? I call on them to be able to do it by 2030. This not only is going to increase our security as a nation but also will bring about the ability for our farmers to have another industry to sell their produce into. The resilience that we build in our farm sector is equally as important as our ability to protect our nation from this vulnerability.