Parliamentary Updates

21 August 2024

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Well I do welcome this day of being able to speak on this legislation, the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024. Since July 2023, the average global temperature has consistently exceeded one point 5 Celsius, above preindustrial levels and they would like to remind all members and our broad community, 1.5 degrees is not just a target, it is not a goal. It is a very important threshold that all within the scientific community have recognised as a threshold beyond which major consequences will occur that impact all of us, all of our communities and our children and their children. Our environments, everything that we take for granted in our lives. So it is very important to keep in mind the why, why it is important that we supercharge our transition towards clean technologies, clean energy and ensure we develop that capacity. This is a new industrial revolution, this is an opportunity to be part of a global race and unfortunately, we are behind and I am a very competitive person with my background in sport and it is frustrating to think of where Australia is in this race and the opportunities that we are still reaching for.

So, we must rapidly develop and supercharge new technologies to rapidly reduce emissions. We must be mindful of that 1.5 degrees threshold. So, what we know that needs happen for that? Well, we need to keep up and accelerate the momentum to net zero and that also means a Net zero economy in the face of what is occurring around the world. And we know there is a race on and so we absolutely, we now are on the starting line but we have to accelerate. Progress is possible but it is not guaranteed and we must have policies that look to the future, that underpin the transition that has to happen. So I do commend the government, the Future Made in Australia proposal in front of us is a major piece of the economic puzzle that will get us through that transition to a more prosperous future. And while temperatures are at records, we are also at records in inflection moments and in our economy as well. There continues to be those that want to delay the transition to clean technologies, to achieving net zero, that want to hold onto the past, that want to stop progress. And, they want to continue with fossil fuels, they want to continue to spread falsehoods and lies, give us reasons for delay, instead of embracing the opportunity that this global race represents to net zero, to an economy that is sustainable, that will nurture not just our prosperity but also our health and well being and environment. So, we know that we need strong new domestic and export industries.

They will be essential to Australia's prosperity. By embracing the race to net zero, we can have an outsized impact on global emissions, and this is the bit that always just bewilders me, where deniers and people condoning delay keep talking about what the rest of the world is doing, but the reality is, our environment and our atmosphere does not recognise country borders. As global warming will occur, everyone will be impacted, so what we do in our scope three emissions, through our export industries matters. It will have a direct consequence on every one of our communities. So, and for a few facts, Australia is the second highest contributor to global emissions through its export industries. But we cannot wipe our hands of that. We cannot on one hand say show me the money, look at all that export funding, and revenue, but then say, but the problems of global warming and that cost that is coming is just something we can't tackle so while we don't account for those scope three emissions, we will pay the price of their consequences, of their impact on global warming and I repeat, Australia is the second highest contributor to global emissions through its export industries. The Carbon released in the downstream processing of many Australian commodities is huge. According to the sun shot alliance, emissions associated with the transport and processing of iron ore is estimated at around 900 million tons annually. That is nearly double all the domestic emissions in Australia. Just pause to think about the scale of that. So, in working on our clean energy future, we must also address transitioning our export industries, having something more positive to contribute to the world. And that is where the Future Made in Australia program will help us achieve that.

Our biggest competitors are already miles ahead of us in this clean energy bonanza and focus and we need to catch up fast. And that is why I do commend for the scale of the commitment over the government over the next 10 years of supporting that development domestically and through our export industries for clean technologies. The core aim of this legislation is that Australia needs to rebuild and modernise our export and manufacturing sectors in a climate focused, sustainable way. Embracing this trajectory means we will see hundreds and thousands of well paying industrial jobs created, support regional and rural economies, contribute significantly to decarbonisation actions in Australia but importantly, globally. We must do our job as global citizens. This year's budget included $22.7 billion towards targeted measures for renewable hydrogen, critical minerals processing, battery and solar manufacturing. Upping the government's investment means a long-term, ambitious package can deliver at least $300 billion per year to clean export revenue by 2035 with about 700,000 direct jobs estimated, mainly, and again, in rural and regional Australia. Australia has been a laggard on climate action. It is what got me into this place when the people of Warringah and so many around Australia are so frustrated at the politics being played rather than embracing opportunities. We are starting to catch up but we need to pick up the pace. We need to keep supporting the transition. We need to accelerate decarbonisation as the world is reaching dangerous temperature points. We know there are many races happening at the moment. There is a race happening when it comes to the temperatures, but we also have a race, a global one, for skills, industries and for investment. And I hosted a roundtable just yesterday to acknowledge climate risk and the loud and clear message that came out of it was we will not be able to insure our way out of climate risk and disaster. It is not going to be economically feasible. And so the incentive, loud and clear, is the focus on mitigation of emissions and transition from all aspects of our systems and economy.

The US, since passing their inflation reduction act in 2022 has seen a huge growth in green technology investment. It has absolutely drawn as a magnet so much investment and focus on Manufacturing opportunities to the US. The EU met that challenge by passing the green deal. It has also focused on developing its own capacity and support for manufacturing industries but we have been slow. And I have been critical of the government, we needed a fast response to the inflation reduction act and the green deal in the EU. So for us to keep in that race, there are three key things that are important that are in this legislation. So firstly, it will supercharge clean industries, the exact industries we need to reach our emissions goals batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, clean ways of making steel, aluminium and other key materials needed for a net zero economy. These industries are all scaling up, our sun, wind and mineral wealth right here in Australia means manufacturing can play a crucial part in cutting climate pollution here and around the globe. Secondly, it will build on the progress we have made. Since 2022, there have been a number of significant pieces of legislation passed by the government. The reformed Safeguard Mechanism, the emissions reduction one, the renewable energy target scheme, the Renewable Energy Agency, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the capacity investment scheme and the net zero agency. Some of these schemes and agencies are working towards a clean energy economy. But it would be remiss to say, just to give a, you know, a... Well, to say to the government, that is not enough stopping those issues, those pieces of legislation are pieces of the puzzle, but they are all brought together by overwhelmingly what target we set what incentive and what direction and what message we send outwardly to investors, to the global community when it comes to Australia's commitment to emissions reduction, and there will be a moment for the Albanese government coming up in just a few months time to really say if it is fair dinkum about emissions reduction, about keeping climate change and doing our bit in keeping to 1.5 degrees. And that will be, what will our target be under the Paris agreement, under the nationally determined contribution. We have to lodge our contribution for 2035 in a a few short months.

We have absolute silence from the Opposition. They have still not come to grips with the fact that we must have strong interim targets to reach and keep us within safe temperature goals. The government has on its plate a challenge. It must step up to the plate with their strong 2035 target. I am strongly urging the government to commit to a floor of 75 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 and that sets the trajectory, it sets the road map, it sets the message loud and clear for all investment, for the global technology race that Australia is fair dinkum when it comes to reducing emissions and that, underpinned with pieces of legislation by Future Made in Australia, can get Australia in this race ahead of where we need to go. So this bill is part of an emerging consensus, the government must play in this net zero transition. The budget the government nominated five priorities for Future Made in Australia, renewable hydrogen, green metals, low carbon liquid fuels and clean energy manufacturing. I would urge the government to also focus on our domestic emissions to make sure that we are electrifying households, that we are fast tracking transition to clean transport, that we are looking at technologies like Grid charging to make sure that we are using all the tools in the toolkit to get us there. In practical terms, a Future Made in Australia bill establishes a national interest framework, it will guide decision-making when public-sector investments are made and there are two streams of the national interest framework, the net zero transformation scheme and the economic resilience and security stream there will be community benefits, principles embedded in all of those aspects and they are designed to ensure that public investment, and the investment that it generates leads to a benefit to communities impacted. But there are still some details that need to be worked out and I have been engaging with the Treasurer with many of my colleagues around guardrails, around greater clarification, making certain the direction this Future Made in Australia will take us. We are well positioned in our region to take advantage of the transition that is happening globally. Key trading nations in the Asian regions leveraged this investment, it is a strategic national interest focused response and it can be bold and ambitious.

The old economic consensus is shifting, markets remain central to making it happen and we need to acknowledge that relying on traditional competitive advantage issues in that transition to net zero is difficult. But a $4.6 trillion annual investment opportunity globally exist there, it is therefore the taking. We must be key players and participate in it. So I urge the government to get ambitious, to make sure that we focus on the right is, we get bang for buck when it comes to public investment, we need to focus on technologies that are focused on 1.5 degrees genuinely focused on emissions reduction, not just offsetting, not just kicking something down the road, it must be focused on that. We also have to make sure we engage with communities, so First Nations have a true voice in this process. What this bill does is it establishes a road map for the future this is an investment for future generations. It will directly impact the prosperity for next generations, so it does mean making this transition to clean energy is as effective and efficient as possible. And so it means, and this is where the government is again just so conflicted, this focus on a future gas strategy. You cannot continue to have gas exploration. We have enough gas, we just need to prioritise where we use it and where it is applied. We need no more coal. The cost of the consequences of continuing down those roads is just so far... It will just decimate our economy if we do not mitigate climate change, and so there is no point in investing in the future if you continue with all technologies that undo all the good work, keep making the problem worse so I commend the bill to the House, support the government on the Future Made in Australia, I commend the Treasurer and ask them to consider the amendment would in good faith to make sure that this bill is robust and delivers its purpose.