Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today on the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. This bill will help to create an offshore renewable energy sector, a sector that will power job creation in regional coastal communities like the Illawarra. It will contribute to the development of cleaner and cheaper renewable energy for Australian households and businesses. For the people of Cunningham, the creation of an offshore renewable energy sector represents a great opportunity to create clean energy jobs, grow our local economy and help reduce emissions.

The Albanese Labor government is getting on with the job. We embrace the vision of Australia as a renewable energy superpower, and we are moving closer to this vision every day. I am really excited about the role that my local area can play in being part of these exciting opportunities. But there is much work to be done before this vision can be realised. Over the past decade, there has been too much time wasted, with lost opportunities that must now be rediscovered. We have a lot of catching up to do.

This bill takes an important first step towards the creation of an offshore renewable energy sector. Firstly, the bill takes into account recent machinery-of-government changes and makes some small administrative amendments to the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021. The changes build on the amazing work already done by the Albanese Labor government and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon. Chris Bowen. The government recently announced six potential offshore wind zones, including the Illawarra. Public consultation for an area in the Bass Strait off Gippsland, Victoria, has already been announced. The other regions are the Pacific Ocean region off the Hunter, the Southern Ocean region off Portland in Victoria, the Bass Strait region off northern Tasmania and the Indian Ocean region off Perth and Bunbury in Western Australia.

Over the next 18 months, Minister Bowen will be seeking the views of the communities from these proposed regions, including the Illawarra. This government understands the importance of listening to local voices. We will listen to local industries, community groups, traditional owners, unions and government stakeholders. We will listen and ensure that locals are given time to consider the effects of offshore renewables on their communities. We will support and empower Australians to have their say.

The government is also working on regulations to implement the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021. Consultation on the first stage of regulations that would establish the licensing scheme has occurred, and comments have been positive so far. These regulations will help enable projects like the Star of the South, a proposed two-gigawatt offshore wind farm off the coast of Gippsland, Victoria, and the Marinus Link, transmission lines to share energy between Tasmania and mainland Australia. It was also only after Labor's pressure that the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act came into effect in June 2022, a framework that regulates offshore renewable energy infrastructure in Commonwealth waters.

Offshore renewable energy has enormous potential in Australia. We have some of the best wind resources in the world, and our government is now unlocking the potential of this valuable resource. We are sending a clear signal that, when it comes to new energy, Australia is open for business. The people of Cunningham care about reducing emissions and doing our part to tackle climate change. We also understand the realities involved in keeping the lights on and forging the steel required for infrastructure. An offshore renewable sector will require diverse skill sets in steel making, manufacturing, engineering, port and land logistics, and many others—skills that the Illawarra has.

Our community has a thriving port in Port Kembla, a world-class university hosting brilliant minds in the University of Wollongong and a manufacturing base with a long history. The ocean off the coast of Wollongong is also a source of strong and reliable wind. Blue Economy's 2021Offshore wind energy in Australia report shares our region's potential when it comes to renewable energy. The report notes that highly developed port facilities, steel mills and fabrication and manufacturing facilities, as well as a skilled workforce, make Port Kembla a good resource. Wollongong knows how to make things. We have strong and consistent ocean wind, and we are innovative and hardworking. The creation of an offshore renewable energy sector would be a perfect fit for the Illawarra.

Our government has also committed $10 million for an energy futures skill centre at the University of Wollongong and $2.5 million for a renewable energy training facility at Wollongong TAFE. These two investments will help train the workforce needed for the renewable energy jobs of today and tomorrow, jobs that this bill paves the way for. We are already home to groundbreaking organisations working on hydrogen electrolysers, sustainable buildings and renewable energy innovations, and we are ready to tap into the global offshore wind sector.

The Renewables 2022global status report highlights the growing uptake of offshore winds worldwide. In 2021, the total offshore wind generation capacity increased to 54.8 gigawatts. Offshore wind accounted for more than 18 per cent of newly installed wind-power capacity and represented nearly 6.5 per cent of total capacity at the end of the year. Countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium are all harnessing the power of offshore wind. Offshore wind currently contributes around 13 per cent to the UK electricity mix. This is generated by 44 wind farms, totalling over 2,500 turbines. Last year, the UK installed over 2.3 gigawatts of new offshore wind installations, making up 70 per cent of total European installations for 2021.

The Global Wind Energy Council's Global wind report 2022 mentions Australia as a market to watch. The report identifies that, with an estimated offshore wind potential of nearly 5,000 gigawatts, our opportunity is huge. However, the report, which was published prior to the election, identified that this opportunity was held back by a lack of federal ambition and incumbent support for fossil fuels. Well, that is no longer the case. The Albanese Labor government is ambitious and getting on with the job. We have a vision of Australia as a renewable energy superpower and of growing a strong economy while reducing our emissions.

The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 builds on our election commitments. Our Powering Australia plan will encourage growth and investment in regions that have been powering Australia for decades—regions like the Illawarra. Powering Australia will create 604,000 jobs, with five out of six being in the regions. It will encourage $76 billion of investment and finally bring governments and business together around renewable energy. The economic benefits are immense and so are the benefits to our planet. We have already legislated a 43 per cent minimum emissions reduction target by 2030 and a net zero target by 2050. Powering Australia will also increase the amount of renewables in the National Energy Market to 82 per cent by 2030. This bill helps us to achieve these goals.

We are also investing $20 billion to rewire the nation, modernising the grid to unlock the potential of offshore wind and other forms of renewable energy, because this government understands the massive opportunities renewable energy provides to Australia and to regions like the Illawarra. With this bill and our other policy initiatives we are paving the way for Australia to become a renewable energy superpower. It updates the existing Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 to reflect machinery-of-government changes, and it extends the jurisdiction of the Customs Act to lower the risk that offshore renewables infrastructure is used to smuggle goods into Australia.

These minor necessary changes will enable the creation of an offshore renewable energy sector—a sector that will create jobs for Australia, particularly in coastal areas, jobs that will enable these communities to continue to power our nation and jobs that will contribute to an increasingly decarbonised economy. That's a sector that would be right at home in Wollongong, with our strong manufacturing base, established port infrastructure and the University Of Wollongong. The offshore wind sector has already been embraced by countries around the world, and it is increasing year by year as technology improves. This government understands the potential of offshore wind as well. Australia has strong and consistent offshore wind resources.

This bill is great for Australia and it is great for coastal regional communities like the Illawarra. It sends a clear message that Australia is open for business when it comes to clean energy, and a message that will help create an offshore renewable energy sector creating regional jobs, generating cheaper and cleaner energy, and lowering our emissions. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context