Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that with research like that occurring at the CSIRO Advanced Research Facility in the electoral division of Ryan, Australia has the potential to be a world leader in hydrogen development, production and export which will create highly paid jobs and an industry potentially worth billions to the Australian economy;

(2) acknowledges that:

  (a) Australia's availability of land, high quality renewable energy resources and fossil energy resources, as well as our well-established reputation for undertaking large-scale resource projects, position Australia well for becoming a key exporter in a future global hydrogen market;

  (b) the combined direct and indirect benefits of establishing a hydrogen production and export industry in Australia under a medium demand scenario will deliver to the Australian economy $4.2 billion and over 7,100 jobs by 2040;

  (c) greater use of hydrogen is one way that Australia can contribute to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, if Australian produced hydrogen replaces traditional fossil fuel sources in end user nations; and

  (d) the National Hydrogen Strategy is to be released by the end of 2019, providing the Government with an opportunity to signal its long term policy and commitment to this industry;

(3) welcomes the Government's significant investment of more than $140 million into hydrogen projects, partnering with industry to develop tangible solutions that are important for bringing down energy prices for Australian households and small businesses; and

(4) encourages the Government to utilise the opportunity of the release of the National Hydrogen Strategy to confirm its long term commitment to the development of our hydrogen capability in order to encourage private investment in the sector, create jobs, create export capability and reduce global carbon emissions.

It is a pleasure to move this motion this morning in the chamber. It is a timely motion, because throughout the course of the year the Australian government has been working with all states and territories to develop a National Hydrogen Strategy, which has recently been released. We aim to build a clean, innovative, safe and competitive hydrogen industry by 2030 that benefits all Australians by giving them access to cleaner and more reliable energy. Indeed, today marks the launch of the national hydrogen RD&D road map. This report will explore the research, development and demonstration opportunities for Australia. I am passionate about this issue because my electorate of Ryan is home to the Pullenvale CSIRO facility in Brisbane, which is at the forefront of developing and researching the technology needed to make hydrogen power a reality for Australia.

Hydrogen represents a low-carbon renewable power source with the capacity to power homes, businesses and even heavy vehicles more efficiently than other renewable energy sources. Even more excitingly, scientists at CSIRO in my electorate are currently developing the technology needed to export Australia's hydrogen on a commercial scale. Already a world leader in per capita investment in clean energy, Australia can utilise hydrogen power as another opportunity to show its global leadership on reducing carbon emissions. Bloomberg found in 2018 that we have more than double the investment in clean energy of other countries like the UK, Germany and France.

The opportunities for the domestic market are exciting. By growing a strong domestic hydrogen industry, Australia will be able to see the practical benefits of hydrogen at home, with cheaper power bills and improved power. Hydrogen also has the potential to benefit Australian businesses across a wide range of sectors as diverse as transport, agriculture and generating electricity.

But it is in export where there is some real excitement and potential. Australia's availability of land and our well-established reputation for undertaking large-scale resource projects provide Australia with the capacity to become a key exporter in a future global hydrogen market. Exporting hydrogen to the international market has the potential to deliver $4.2 billion and over 7,000 jobs to the Australian economy by 2040. The Morrison government is backing the National Hydrogen Strategy with a $13.4 million commitment that will see the government take on a national coordination role for strategy implementation and take the lead on international negotiations to foster stronger trade relationships and develop an international certification scheme. Key energy export markets such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are already looking for opportunities to diversify their energy sources, and the Morrison government is committed to making sure that Australian technology and Australian jobs are at the forefront of this.

We have significant investments to achieve this. The Morrison government will also make $370 million available through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to back new hydrogen products and projects. This includes $300 million of finance through a new Advancing Hydrogen Fund and $70 million through the ARENA fund to kickstart electrolyser projects.

As I said earlier, developing the export market is an opportunity to show leadership in reducing global carbon emissions. Developing our hydrogen industry will allow Australia to exercise leadership in global carbon reduction by exporting hydrogen power to other countries, reducing the carbon emissions in these end-user countries while simultaneously boosting the Australian economy.

To show the House just how important this technology could be, I'll give you an example. If one petajoule of diesel consumed in trucks globally was replaced by hydrogen, there would be a net reduction in emissions of 63,037 tonnes of carbon. In conclusion, a large domestic hydrogen industry will create numerous highly paid jobs and an industry worth potentially billions for the Australian economy. The government's National Hydrogen Strategy published last month outlines our long-term commitment to ensuring that this industry is fostered. Thank you to Minister Taylor for the work he is doing in this regard. Although I note Labor said they won't have a carbon policy for two years, I urge them to get on board and help us to achieve this in a bipartisan matter.

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