20 August, 2024: 

I rise today in support of the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 and the government's Future Made in Australia policy agenda. The world is at a tipping point. We either face up to the challenge created by climate change, and fast, or we submit to a future of heatwaves, extinctions, rising sea levels, higher rates of mortality, food, water and fuel insecurity and vast swathes of the world's population becoming climate refugees in search of habitable living conditions. We understand the crisis and we understand its causes. We also understand how to fix it. Quite simply, the time has come to end our addiction to fossil fuels as the primary source of energy for our country and the foundation of our economy.

An addiction is something that does us harm, and fossil fuels are harming us all, most of all the future of our children. Whether we like it or not, the world is transitioning away from fossil fuels. Australia, too, must transition to a decarbonised energy source. It is the clever thing to do for two simple reasons: for the safety and security of our planet and to create a strong and vibrant Australian economy based on technology of the future, not technology of the past which is outdated. Building green manufacturing and value-adding capacity is the way we as a nation will create the high-income, highly skilled jobs of the future. It is the way we will be able to maintain our high standard of living.

If we do not transition, if we do not evolve and adapt to the new future by investing in and building our green manufacturing capacity, then, quite simply, we will be left behind other nations that do. We will be left behind to become a 'dig it and ship it' country that has to buy back products made with our raw materials at high prices. A domestic net zero economy here in Australia will reduce global emissions by just over one per cent. But if Australia successfully seizes the economic opportunity to export zero-emissions minerals, metals and other goods, not only would this create a sustained economic boom, improving our national prosperity and living standards, but it also has the potential to reduce global emissions by an additional six to nine per cent. I will repeat that: Australia has the potential reduce the world's emissions by up to 10 per cent. But it means acting and investing in this future right now.

Right now, with the policies we make in this House we are choosing the type of future we want and Australia's role in creating that future. When I speak to the people of Mackellar, one message that is clear and resounding is that the people have had enough of short-termism. They want visionary leadership. They want us to envisage a bright future and then make long-term policies and take steps that help us achieve that vision. So we must grab this opportunity and entered the new era boldly—an era that will be known as the green industrial revolution. We have a win-win opportunity to play an outsized role in the conservation of our planet, and at the same time as building a future-focused, resilient, vibrant economy here in Australia. That's what the Future Made in Australia is setting Australia up to do. It's sets up the legislative framework and institutional infrastructure necessary to support the transition to a clean, future-focused economy.

As stated by the Superpower Institute, the Future Made in Australia framework is 'a critical step to unlocking green export opportunities that will form the basis of future economic prosperity and underpin a key part of global decarbonisation efforts'. But, like most startups, new technologies and industries typically require early financing and support because of large upfront capital costs. Upfront costs of innovation and infrastructure in this area are too large and risky for individual early movers. That's why upfront investment from government is necessary to help build the industries and diversify our economy in a way that will sustain us into the future.

As a result of the government's $22.7 billion Australian manufacturing scheme, giant superannuation funds have declared they are eager to start spending on local projects. This is exactly what we want to happen. We want government investment to attract private capital. Institutional investors with hundreds of billions of dollars under management have come out in support of the scheme, stating that public financing can unlock the private capital needed to grow green industries to slash emissions, boost jobs and hit the nation's climate targets. The head of external relations for global infrastructure investment fund IFM Investors, with more than $200 billion under management, is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying:

Unlocking investment at-scale into Australia's energy transition can only happen if industry and government work together to achieve the right policy settings.
Jeff Brunton, the head of portfolio management at Hesta, a fund with around $85 billion under management, said:

Initiatives like Future Made in Australia help Australia compete for its fair share of global capital increasingly looking to invest in the transition.
The experts are aligned on what should be the fulcrum of the Future Made in Australia program, and that is comparative advantage. We all know where Australia's comparative advantage lies—in our abundant natural resources: specifically, wind, solar, critical minerals and our wide, open spaces. These comparative advantages mean that it is possible for our future renewable energy supply to far exceed our demand, opening up the opportunity for an enormous renewable energy and green product export market.

The way to achieve this, according to the Superpower Institute, is to embed renewable energy in energy-intensive value-added products such as green metals, fertilisers and fuels. In other words, Australia can make products with clean energy and then export them to the rest of the world to use so that countries without renewable energy capacity don't have to use polluting energy sources to create these products for themselves.

Just last week, WWF released a report about green iron showing that, through its production, Australia can decarbonise Asia's steel production. Steel is responsible for nine per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. As a leading world supplier of iron ore, steel's essential ingredient, Australia can and, quite simply, must play a significant role in decarbonising the global steel industry.
Major Asian steel producers are looking to Australia as a supplier of green iron, but we have competition from other countries who are rapidly building their own green iron industries. Investment and policy support are vital to give Asian customers the confidence to choose Australia as a reliable supplier of green iron. The Future Made in Australia program provides the framework to deliver those clear and certain policy investment conditions. The need for Australia to engage in the green industrial revolution is absolutely clear, as is our ability to reap enormous benefits from it.

I am not, however, without concerns about aspects of the Future Made in Australia legislation currently before the House. I will now outline some of these concerns. Firstly, I agree with the Environmental Defenders Office submission to the inquiry into this legislation that Australia's emission reductions targets and our obligations under the Paris Agreement must be incorporated into the legislative objects. Even more explicitly, the legislation needs amending to make clear that no Commonwealth funds or investments can be used to support fossil fuel projects or infrastructure or any related industry, and this would include carbon capture and storage. This should be clear and uncontroversial.

Secondly, I'm concerned about whether the investments envisaged under the Future Made in Australia will be sufficiently targeted to achieve its goal, which is a more diversified and productive economy powered by clean energy. As currently drafted, the bill is too vague as to which sectors might be eligible for Future Made in Australia support. To fix this, the objects should be amended to incorporate the urgent need to decarbonise Australia's energy and industrial systems.

Thirdly, there is a need to mandate the assessment process. Surely projects should only be eligible for these Commonwealth Future Made in Australia funds if they are part of a sector that has been subject to an assessment which has concluded that it is an appropriate sector for support. This is a necessary guardrail to ensure that taxpayer money is being used only for sunrise industries where it is necessary to bridge the green premium, not for sunsetting industries where government investment will only extend projects' life spans and harmful effects. A reasonable assessment process has been formulated, but, in the current form of the legislation, it is entirely at the discretion of the government as to whether it is applied or not. Surely it would be most appropriate for it to be used every time. So I will be supporting the amendment from my crossbench colleague the member for Curtin, which prohibits Future Made in Australia support unless a sector assessment recommends the relevant sector for that support. Observers should be able to assess how the government has come to a conclusion about our comparative advantages and about which industries we are subsidising and why.

Fourthly, given that the world is rapidly changing, it will be necessary to reassess which sectors are included in the legislation every five years. Investments that make sense now may not make sense when we know more about which technologies are likely to dominate and what other countries are doing. Having a formal requirement to reassess every five years will at least provide a backstop and ensure Australia remains on the right track.

Fifthly, while decision-makers under the Future Made in Australia legislation will be required to consider community interest when making decisions, more could be included. First Nations communities deserve more than 'collaborative engagement', which is the requirement as currently drafted. The community benefit principles should allow First Nations people to participate in and benefit from Future Made in Australia projects. Nature positive outcomes and greenhouse gas reductions should also be incorporated into the community benefit principles.

Finally, I urge the government, as I so often have in this place, to ensure that all Australians reap the benefits of what are, after all, their investments in these Future Made in Australia projects. If taxpayer money is being invested into the establishment of new industries, especially when those industries are based on the exploitation of our natural resources, then we must share in the rewards. Let's not make the same mistake successive governments have made in our resource sector by allowing foreign companies to be the big winners from what is dug out of our ground by giving away our resources, often for free.
Let's ensure we are the best ancestors we can be by not only fixing the climate crisis but by establishing a sovereign wealth fund to ensure our future generations are provided with services like high quality health care and education and high quality disability and aged care.

Australia could not be in a better position to prosper from the green industrial revolution. If it's done properly we can not only flourish domestically from the transition but we can also lead the world. We can help our neighbours and trading partners to decarbonise and we can make the future brighter—environmentally and economically—for generations of Australians to come. The role Australia can play in the global transition is real and it is urgent. It is also achievable. We choose our future.