Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lingiari for her question and congratulate her on being the first Aboriginal person to sit in the Speaker's chair this week. Well done.

Creating jobs and industries that support them is one of the golden threads that run through the history of the Australian Labor Party. From Curtin and Chifley's full employment and creation of the car industry to the Hawke economic reforms and the Button industry plan to Prime Minister Albanese's vision for a future made in Australia, it's all about creating jobs and supporting families. That's why we're committed to seizing the opportunities from the global move to net zero.

We know the best renewable energy resources are in Australia. Nearly every critical mineral needed to power the clean energy economy of the 21st century resides in Australia. We've got copper, zinc, bauxite and cobalt, and we've got lithium in abundance. We're great at mining these resources, but the Australian people demand more. They want us to value add to them where possible and create well-paid highly skilled manufacturing industries, and the Albanese Labor government is backing this vision with our transformational policy agenda: the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, production tax credits for renewable hydrogen and critical minerals, $2 billion for Australia's aluminium smelters and $1 billion for the Green Iron Investment Fund.

Green iron is the foundation for the future for the global iron trade, and it's a generational opportunity to make Australia more prosperous, thereby reducing global emissions. It was a key priority for Prime Minister Albanese's visit to China. The Albanese government understands that the world is changing, and that's why we're taking action. We recognise the opportunities that are in front of us and are committed to seizing the future to support high-growth cutting edge industries. Sadly, that support is not bipartisan. This week we saw the coalition's climate change clown show back in town. Speaking of one of them—

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