Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The only betrayal of Australia going on is from you, Senator Williams, and your opposition colleagues, for not supporting moving to a clean energy future, for not supporting action on climate change and for denying the science. You spoke recently on the fact that you do deny the science; you think we should do nothing because the climate changes. And if you do agree to do something it comes down to your Direct Action Plan, which is actually about taxing Australian households to give money to polluters. The irony is unbelievable.

The coalition is against a market driven approach. You come into the Senate and say: 'Oh, what's going to happen? We're not going to know what the price of carbon is going to be, because it's a market driven approach.' It is absolutely bizarre to have the coalition be against a market driven approach. Aren't you the party of the free market? Here you are against a market driven approach when it comes to putting a price on carbon. It is quite extraordinary.

The Steel Transformation Plan, which relates to the bill we are currently focused on, is just one part of the government's suite of policies supporting the steel industry and manufacturing in general. The coalition turns up at steel sites and cries crocodile tears and, at the same time, votes against $300 million worth of support for the steel industry. Again, it is complete hypocrisy.

The steel industry, as we know, is facing a number of challenges, including the high Australian dollar and higher input costs, separate from carbon pricing itself. We understand that the Steel Transformation Plan will encourage investment and innovation in the Australian steel manufacturing industry and will help the sector to transform into a more efficient and sustainable industry in a low-carbon economy. It builds on our existing collaboration, which the government has been supporting over several years now. For example, the CSIRO has been working with BlueScope Steel and OneSteel on the steel industry CO2 Breakthrough in Metal Production Program to increase energy efficiency and minimise costs by reducing emissions and waste, with a total investment to date of around $10 million. According to the worldsteel carbon dioxide breakthrough program, the technology resulting from the CSIRO's ISP is one of the few known technologies in the world with potential in the short term to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions by the steel industry by over 50 per cent at very minimal cost.

The University of Wollongong is another example. The CSIRO and ANSTO are individually represented on the Steel Industry Innovation Council. We know that the CAST Cooperative Research Centre, with government funding of $33.5 million, has been working with the Australian metal manufacturing sector to create business opportunities and improve processes to reduce costs and increase productivity. CAST partners include universities, business and industry players, including BlueScope Steel. These are all important transitional, researched and scientific good things that are happening in this space as we transform into a clean energy future. These are good things that the coalition senators refuse to listen to and take note of, because they are the party that just says no.

Another example is the Defence Materials Technology Centre, which has undertaken several research programs involving private industry—including BlueScope Steel, Bisalloy Steels and Thales Australia—with the University of Wollongong and government researchers. These programs are developing improved steel for armoured vehicles and better design and fabrication processes to reduce weight and cost. It is another innovative example of how innovation comes with the change to a low-carbon economy. That is the kind of business certainty that yesterday provides. Yesterday businesses were given some certainty, because now we know that we have a new market mechanism structure in place for their industry and for the investment and the innovation that comes with our transforming to a clean energy future. I think I have mentioned before in this place that I visited Alstom, an engineering factory in Tasmania, which was waiting to find out the outcome of yesterday's vote on the clean energy bills to give their business certainty so that they can continue to invest in Tasmania and the jobs that they provide in engineering support to our hydroelectricity scheme in Tasmania, as well as a number of other clients that they support in the clean energy sector in the rest of the country. All of these programs are developed to improve steel for armoured vehicles, as I said, and to improve outcomes that transition us into that clean energy future.

Aside from improving capabilities and protection available to Australian service personnel, research that has been undertaken also offers huge potential for civilian manufacturing applications and exports. This willingness of universities to support the communities that sustain them demonstrates the public-spirited nature of our public institutions, our universities. These contributions show again that the science and research sectors are a natural fit with industries and communities, with industries like the steel industry, and when they do work together, whether in good times or difficult times, our innovation system can very much capitalise on opportunity and minimise that adversity.

The $300 million Steel Transformation Plan is a special, appropriate scheme with assistance under the plan capped at $75 million per year. The Steel Transformation Plan will operate over six payment years from 2011-12 to 2016-17. There is no confusion about the term of assistance under the $300 million plan. As announced on 10 July this year, payments under the self-assessment component of that Steel Transformation Plan will be made six months in arrears and therefore the eligibility activity period will be a four-year period whereas the payment period will be a five-year period. As announced on 22 August, competitive assistance advances will also be available in the 2011-12 financial year. Accordingly, taking both these elements together, assistance under the Steel Transformation Plan is to be made available over those six payment years from 2011-12 to 2016-17.

On top of that, the government is also supporting the SMEs, the small and medium enterprises, through the clean technology programs which the coalition also oppose. For example, the new $200 million Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program will provide grants worth up to $50 million over six years to the metal-forging and foundries industries. These grants will assist the industries to invest in energy efficient equipment and low-pollution technologies, processes and products. The government is also supporting these SMEs through tailored business management advisory services, through Enterprise Connect, for example, which the coalition is proposing to cut $100 million from.

Senator Nash interjecting—

The amount of negativity that comes from those senators opposite that continue to oppose everything leads to their putting their heads in the sand in not accepting that we have to take hold of the issues that climate change science provide to us and change our trajectory into a clean energy future.

Senator Nash interjecting—

Instead, it sends us back into the old dark ages—

Senator Nash interjecting—

Senator Nash, your opposition to the clean energy bills again highlights the fact that the opposition are focused on taking this nation into the dark ages, to the days when we did not believe scientists, when we certainly did not act on anything that science provided and when nothing really happened. It was a sad period in our history. We do not live in the dark ages anymore; we live in a time when we do embrace science and we do accept that we need to take hold of peer reviewed science. Unfortunately, those opposite continue to not support the science, although I tend to think that some of them do actually support the science and they are just playing politics on this issue. It suits them to try and be naysayers and be scaremongers and oppose everything because they see that that is perhaps their role rather than actually coming together and doing something for the benefit of all Australians, for our environment and for industries that need our support such as the steel industry. But, unfortunately, we will continue to see the naysaying opposition just oppose having Australia move into a clean energy future when so many other countries in the world have already embraced it and are embracing it. Why are they doing it? Why do we have these ongoing UN meetings to try and move this globe forward? We care about the future of this planet. We care about the fact that we need to do something to ensure that the human impact that we have on it is not going to be to its detriment—not just for us but for our children and for our children's children. That brings me back again to the bill and the fact that the bill focuses very much on steel transformation. It is a fact that steelmakers are very supportive of the Steel Transformation Plan. Australian steelmakers are facing considerable challenges from external factors other than the carbon price. I am sure that Senator Williams will acknowledge that. BlueScope has stated that it is restructuring its operations to improve its financial health in response to the global circumstances it faces, including the high Australian dollar, high raw material costs and intense import competition. They are realities that BlueScope Steel has to live with in the current global market. It is essential, therefore, that the steel manufacturing industry is supported during this period of transition, and that is exactly what the Steel Transformation Plan will provide: further support for Australian jobs and ensuring the future of the Australian steel industry. Labor senators on this side of the chamber very much support jobs. We are the party that very much supports working people. We support their rights and we support their jobs. Opposition senators have a long track record of not supporting jobs, ripping out workers' rights and ensuring that workers are not protected and not supported in any kind of transition to a clean energy future or a future where there is global uncertainty in the steel industry. We do not believe in leaving those workers in the lurch, and that is why we are supporting this bill.