"This bill and our plan for A Future Made in Australia are an effort to address and answer the great questions of our times: climate change, the energy transition, sustainable economic growth and the creation of well-paying and lasting jobs for the next generation and the generation that follows it."

Address to the House of Representatives, Bills

Thursday 15 August 2024

The member for Bowman, despite his relative youth, seemed to be stuck in the hazy west-coast 1970s—an attitude that it will be all right in the long run. It's a privilege to contribute to this debate—a debate about one of the most important policy agendas of the Albanese government. This bill, the Future Made in Australia Bill 2024, represents the ambitions of this government to set this country up for growth and progress, to build a future here for our children and their children. It's another example of a government that is firmly focused on today and tomorrow, compared to an opposition with a narrow, straitened focus on a past—a past where, I dare say, they were responsible for too many opportunities missed. I know this better than some, as for much of their time in government I worked representing science and engineering professionals across the public and private sectors, and saw firsthand the consequences of their disinterest in manufacturing, research and innovation, and their disinterest in industry and science policy more broadly.

I recognise the many excellent contributions which have already been made by my colleagues on this side of the House. The number and quality of contributions reflect the commitment we have to pursuing this plan for the benefit of all Australians. We face a series of challenges on the national horizon, but these challenges come with opportunities if we are bold enough to grasp them, and Australians have always been bold when facing the future. When their governments join them in this boldness, the capacity of the Australian people to achieve greatness is limitless. We had nearly a decade of inaction and atrophy when those opposite occupied this side of the chamber. They did nothing to address the challenges of climate change, manufacturing and securing supply changes. It was a decade of lost opportunity. We on this side are going to catch up and make up for this wasted decade. This bill forms a key part of that catch-up.

What is before us today is straightforward. The principle underpinning it is simple. We on this side want Australia to be a country that makes things here. We used to be a country which made things. We made cars here, something that was lost thanks to the wilful destructiveness of those opposite. We have three critical reasons why we need to be, once again, a country which makes things: firstly, making things here will contribute positively to economic growth; secondly, making things here will create jobs—good, well-paying jobs; and thirdly, making things here will make us stronger and more secure by reducing our dependence on potentially vulnerable global supply chains. Underpinning all this is using this as an opportunity to take serious and meaningful action on climate change through promoting investment in renewable energy.

As the Treasurer said, this legislation is built on three pillars: first, a National Interest Framework, which will help us identify sectors where we have a sustained comparative advantage in the new net zero economy or in economic resilience and security imperative to invest; second, a robust sector assessment process to help us better understand and break down barriers to private investment in key areas of the economy; and, third, a set of community benefit principles that will ensure public investment and the private investment it generates leads to strong returns but also leads to stronger communities.

In short, through this bill and the broader $22.7 billion plan associated with it, our government is going to maximise the economic and industrial benefits of our transition to net zero while securing our nation's place in a changing international strategic and economic context. Most importantly, this bill was offered in the national interest. To be able to take practical action on climate change, grow our economy and strengthen our nation all in one piece of legislation is an unmissable opportunity for this parliament. We are motivated on this side by the national interest, and I encourage all those in this place who share these sentiments to support this bill.

This bill comes within our broader Future Made in Australia budget package. I mentioned its total value before, but it's worth mentioning again—$22.7 billion. That is a significant investment in the future of our nation. This package includes the Solar Sunshot, the Battery Breakthrough Initiatives, the National Interest Account, the production tax incentives for hydrogen and critical minerals and the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. This plan sends an unmistakable message to the world: Australia is part of the solution and very much open for business. We're not passengers. We will be able to attract and enable investment in these important areas and cement our place as an indispensable part of global supply chains.

The bill and the broader plan, while looking to promote our national interest, unashamedly looks to the world and our place in it. The world is changing, and we need to make sure that we keep up. Make no mistake: renewable energy is here to stay. Global markets have embraced the energy transition. Those who resist will be left well behind. The global economy is changing rapidly, and we must make sure Australia changes as well. The Future Made in Australia Bill will ensure we establish an enduring framework to underpin our national response to global economic changes and how we can take advantage of it.

This is a plan for Australia's future, a plan that begins right now. These sorts of debates are always instructive and interesting as to the views and mood of the House on the great questions of the day. I have listened to a few of the contributions from those opposite. In the face of our plan, our vision for A Future Made in Australia, they have had little to offer. There is no counterplan. There is no alternative vision. There is no constructive criticism. All we have heard is carping and empty words. Debates in this place are not about cheap, political pointscoring. Debates in this place are supposed to be about alternative visions for our country. The government has presented a vision and a plan to take that vision and turn it into a reality. I have yet to hear of a similar vision or plan from those opposite.

The closest we have come in this place to hearing something that closely resembles a vision from those opposite is their vision for a future powered by nuclear energy. We over here are talking about critical minerals, batteries and green hydrogen and articulating how we are going to use these opportunities to transform our country; those opposite are talking about nuclear power, but, as with their approach over the last decade, it's more distraction and inaction. There is no serious engagement with the significant challenges that nuclear power faces even to be a small part of our energy supply. There is no sensible conversation about cost, timing, location or workforce capacity. That's because, fundamentally, they're not serious. The nuclear thought bubble is a fig leaf to cover their opposition to meaningful action.

We over here are talking about something real, measurable and achievable. We over here are talking about aligning Australia with the global energy transition, whilst over there they're still talking about moving in the opposite direction—perhaps to an Eagles powered 1970s. We over here are talking about a plan to create jobs and grow our economy, whilst over there there is no plan for jobs or the economy. The contrast, in fact, could not be more stark.

We are all, in the end, judged by history, whether we like it or not. This bill and our plan for A Future Made in Australia are an effort to address and answer the great questions of our times: climate change, the energy transition, sustainable economic growth and the creation of well-paying and lasting jobs for the next generation and the generation that follows it. But in this debate we have heard nothing from those opposite that would indicate a willingness to offer a similar plan or vision. It's disappointing, but it's not my disappointment that matters. History will judge those opposite and the fact that, in the face of the great challenges facing us—in the fact of the most important questions of our times—again they had no answer and instead chose to play cheap political games.

In conclusion, the Future Made in Australia Bill is an important part of our plan to make things here, grow our economy, create jobs, join the global energy transition and make real and practical steps towards tackling climate change. This is a bold plan to set our country up for the future, starting today. I couldn't be prouder to be associated with it, and I commend the bill to the House.