Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the huge potential for a future made in Australia that is being tapped into in the upper Spencer Gulf in South Australia. This is a region that is already starting to play a vital role in our green industry future as we strive to net zero emissions in Australia by 2050. The Albanese Labor government, along with the South Australian Labor government, is working side by side and with a deep engagement with the communities and the industries in that region, as well as with the industries that are aiming to develop in that region.

In May, myself and the South Australian Deputy Premier, Susan Close, had the pleasure of welcoming the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to Port Augusta. Port Augusta is a central node of the upper Spencer Gulf's industrial triangle, which includes Whyalla and Port Pirie, and we saw the announcement of $65 million from the Albanese Labor government for South Australia's Northern Water project—a project that the South Australian government has been working on for some time. The project will see the establishment of a desalination plant and a water pipeline that will provide water to the industrial north of our state, feeding the industries of critical minerals and green steel production as well as the towns along the west coast and into the far inland of South Australia. Water is scarce in those parts, and this project will make a fundamental difference to our ability to develop and grow.

Northern Water has the potential to unlock $5 billion in investment and to lift South Australia's GDP by $150 billion over its lifetime, creating 4,200 jobs in resources, renewables and the net zero transformation on average each year. This is just one of a myriad of projects that will bring prosperity through green industries to the upper Spencer Gulf. The Spencer Gulf Cities alliance of councils has identified the potential for more than $30 billion in investment over 70 projects, demanding a workforce of over 25,000, in the coming decade. Planning for these opportunities is well underway, as we saw at the Upper Spencer Gulf Workforce Summit last month, because there is so much to do to ensure that that development, that investment and that potential are brought to fruition, but, for that, we must have the planning and the vision in place for that. Certainly, the Albanese Labor government does and, certainly, the communities of the upper Spencer Gulf do as well.

At the Upper Spencer Gulf Workforce Summit last month, we had the joy of an address from the Assistant Minister for a Future Made in Australia and the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tim Ayres. The Future Made in Australia plan is all about attracting and enabling investment. It's about making Australia a renewable energy superpower, value-adding to resources and strengthening our economic security. It's about backing Australian ideas in innovation, digital and science and investing in people and places. This is a vision for the future, and Port Augusta has indeed come a long way to become a green industry of renewable energy since the closure of its coal-fired power station in 2016. Just a quick note to Peter Dutton and the Liberals: it closed in 2016, so your idea of transitioning it to become a nuclear power plant is probably a little out of date and a little behind the times.

What we do see in Port Augusta are resilience and perseverance. Times have been tough, but the future is looking really, really bright, and the opportunities in front of us are immense. The Future Made in Australia plan is about investing in people and places, and we will be making important investments in skills, training and education and providing support for communities and regions that are most impacted by the net zero transformation and those that are best placed to become involved in that transition.

We are investing over the next five years to accelerate the development of the clean energy workforce through expanded access to a new energy apprenticeship program, and through investments in vocational education and training, and in clean energy courses. We are expanding supports for women training in male-dominated industries and supporting diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths. The future is bright, and the Upper Spencer Gulf is at the centre of it for South Australia.