Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced exciting new initiatives to help Australia confront the spectre of rising fuel costs. In doing so he has effectively stimulated a debate on alternative energies that has lain moribund for some considerable time. Even in the short time since the announcement of the government’s package, people are beginning to realise that other energy sources do exist. The cost of oil is such that these alternative technologies are approaching a phase where further investigation and research is warranted and viable. For some time now I have championed the case of ethanol, and here we are at the threshold of an era of ethanol based fuels. I have already made arrangements to have my car converted to E85 in anticipation of the demand that will surely come from this week’s announcement. When this happens, as it has in other parts of the world, there will be a demand for conversions, and I hope that the government extends the same offer of conversion subsidies to E85 as it has for LPG. Incidentally, the cost of an E85 conversion is less than $400.

What I want to speak about today is another potential source of alternative energy that has been around for quite some time—and that is coal. The Illawarra has an abundance of coal. It has been said that Australia has about 4,000 years worth of supply. I cannot vouch for the veracity of that claim, but I do appreciate that it is an energy source that warrants further investigation in thinking outside the box. The only downfall with coal is the issue of carbon dioxide emission. There is no point in going from the frying pan into the fire in this age of global warming, so that is an aspect that requires serious attention. The aspect of coal that I want to raise is the technology of liquefaction or even conversion to gas. This technology has been around for some time but it needs refining and we in the Illawarra—and, to an extent, the Shoalhaven—are well placed to take up the challenge of further research. The price of oil is about $73 per barrel, so it is up to the Australian industry to take up the challenge and pursue this research even further.

I heard the lament of the coal industry in the 1980s. Here is their chance for a big comeback. It is something that the government can assist with in the way of research grants. With our coal deposits, Australia is well placed to be the leader in this field. We do not want to end up losing our capability to overseas interests. We can enter another golden age, as we did at the beginning of the 20th century with steel, manufacturing, wheat and coal. We may not be heavyweights in manufacturing any longer, but we are well positioned in technology and we should be pursuing that for all it is worth. The oil crisis should be seen as an opportunity rather than a disaster. It is forcing us out of complacency and into a brave new world—and that is a good thing. We should take up the challenge and we should run with it.