Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hosted a conversation with Ross Garnaut, one of Australia's pre-eminent economists, in my electorate of Curtin. To a sell-out crowd, he emphasised Australia's sources of comparative advantage in the new economy, including an abundance of solar and wind resources, energy transition minerals and resources that need green processing.

These opportunities are especially significant for Western Australia, which has a track record of pioneering innovation and bold decisions in the resources sector. We have the most to gain but also the most to lose from the green energy transition. WA's current deep reliance on fossil fuel exports is driving a sluggish response to the green economic pivot, which Mr Garneau identified as an inevitable part of transition. Those who think there's something to be gained from delay will delay.

The Investor Group on Climate Change, with members from some of Australia's largest institutional investors, told me last week that the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has caused capital to migrate towards energy transition projects in the US. Their message is clear. The government's job is to provide certainty for investing. Once the right rules are in place, capital markets will do the heavy lifting on energy transition. Australia and WA will need to respond boldly to the Inflation Reduction Act by identifying and incentivising areas of comparative advantage, like green hydrogen, battery mineral processing and green steel processing to ensure Australia's prosperity for the coming decades.