Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. In this week's budget, your government allocated $1.5 billion for the Middle Arm industrial zone in Darwin Harbour. Middle Arm proposes petrochemical manufacturing using gas from the Beetaloo basin. Unless that changes, this is a subsidy for the fossil fuel industries. Will you guarantee the Middle Arm precinct will not produce petrochemicals or gas based manufacturing?

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

Thanks very much to the member for Kooyong for her question. The Australian government invests in projects such as the Middle Arm precinct as an important way of setting up our economy for a sustainable future. Instead of funding any particular companies or particular industries, we're actually investing in common-use enabling infrastructure—we do that across industrial precincts across the country—to give all potential users in the market the opportunity to grow and thrive. This includes those able to process and export green hydrogen and energy transition components made locally.

The government is providing in the budget $1.9 billion in planned equity to support the development of Middle Arm, together with regional logistic hubs in the Northern Territory across those key transport links. That's what we're doing. This investment will enable the precinct to be globally competitive, to be sustainable—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for New England!

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

I can hear some interjections from the member for New England about that. I know that he likes this particular project, which we're very happy about.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm agreeing with you, Minister. I'm agreeing with you.

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

No, I was actually acknowledging that that's what he was doing. This investment will enable the precinct to be globally competitive and sustainable, but it will focus on low-emission hydrocarbons, green hydrogen and critical minerals processing. Demand, we know—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order? I'll hear from the member for Kooyong and ask the minister to take a pause.

Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I was hoping for an answer to my question.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! That is not a—

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! To remind all members, that is not a point of order. The minister is being relevant.

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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. As we know, the demand is growing for clean energy sources, and Labor's investment will help position the Northern Territory and northern Australia to actually diversify their economy and to create jobs. This investment is not a subsidy for fossil fuels. I reject that entirely. Rather, funding will go towards the infrastructure that will support users to export clean energy, critical to meet our commitment to net zero, like green hydrogen and lithium batteries that are critical to decarbonisation.

Common-user infrastructure at Middle Arm and in industrial precincts across the country, which the Commonwealth regularly invests in, is included in Infrastructure Australia's Infrastructure Priority List of nationally significant proposals, and the project is currently at the stage 2 assessment process. The Middle Arm precinct is undergoing significant environmental assessments under the Northern Territory Environment Protection Act and the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. These assessments will help understand the impact of the proposed construction. The Northern Territory government has completed or commenced over 200 investigations, including feasibility studies into land and marine development and environmental culture and heritage. This is good for the Territory, it's good for the nation, and I reject absolutely the claim of it being a fossil fuel subsidy.

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! When the House comes to order, the members for New England and Riverina will cease interjecting, and so will the Minister for Resources.