Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. In order to reach and exceed the government's 43 per cent emissions reduction target all sectors of our economy must adapt. That includes how we fund infrastructure projects like the Western Harbour Tunnel and the Beaches Link in my electorate of North Sydney. Will the minister make infrastructure funding for projects such as these contingent on a project delivering a carbon base case which would track and limit emissions over the life cycle of the project from design through to construction?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Independent member for North Sydney for the question and also for her interest in the contribution that infrastructure can make to achieving net zero. It can make a substantial contribution, and I thank her for her interest in in it. I am aware of the proposal from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia to introduce a carbon base case for infrastructure projects and programs over $100 million. I want to work with industry and with others who have ideas in this space to implement new ways to work towards our goal of achieving a 43 per cent reduction of emissions by 2030.

I understand that there is no current accurate and consistent way across the country to actually estimate the carbon base case for infrastructure projects. I am happy to receive proposals and also very happy to work collaboratively with others in this House and industry to explore ways in which we can get to that and increase the sustainability of our infrastructure investments. In fact, that's exactly what happened when Labor was last in office. When the Prime Minister held this portfolio, he invested in seed funding to the Infrastructure Sustainability Rating Scheme. That was established. It was the first one that had ever been established. That's an independent rating framework that's still used to help assess the sustainability of our infrastructure and the performance of our infrastructure across the nation. At the last Infrastructure and Transport Ministers' Meeting this was on the agenda. We agreed to explore further how governments across Australia can consider the carbon base case and establish a consistent measurement of embedded carbon within infrastructure projects.

Across my portfolio, in terms of both transport and infrastructure, we have a lot we can contribute to net zero. It did surprise me—maybe it won't surprise others here—that there wasn't actually anywhere within the department of infrastructure and transport where we were actually working on net zero and decarbonising the infrastructure and transport portfolio. I have asked my secretary to establish a unit within the department to start doing that. We will be establishing that net zero unit within the portfolio. I'm also undertaking other important initiatives across the portfolio, including the aviation white paper that will look at this issue and a jet zero council to establish sustainable aviation fuels in this country as well. I thank you for the question and your interest in infrastructure.