CORONAVIRUS — ECONOMIC
RECOVERY PACKAGE — RENEWABLE HYDROGEN STRATEGY
588. Mrs A.K. HAYDEN to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's $22
million hydrogen announcement on Monday. Why can the Premier give large mining and energy companies—Fortescue Metals
Group and ATCO—millions of dollars of taxpayers' money for
hydrogen projects, but not grants of
up to $10 000 for struggling Western Australian small businesses crippled by
the COVID crisis?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I support hydrogen. Hydrogen is a large
part of our state's future. I am very excited by hydrogen. I do not
have the details in front of me, but my memory tells me that in relation to
FMG, and as part of the $22 million program, we provided a $2 million grant,
which has enlivened around $32 million of investment from FMG towards hydrogen
powering its Cloudbreak mine site. That is a major mine—the member has
probably never been there.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN: I am just saying; it is probably a statement
of fact.
Mr P.A. Katsambanis: I have
been there.
The SPEAKER: Members! The
Premier is on his feet. I want to hear him in silence.
Mr M. McGOWAN: Good for you!
I have been to Hillarys lately too! I go and speak to lots of people in
Hillarys.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN: I did not see
you around.
Mr P.A. Katsambanis
interjected.
The SPEAKER: Member for
Hillarys!
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN: I saw on
Twitter that you were out doorknocking. I think that is probably the first time
in a long time.
Mr P.A. Katsambanis
interjected.
The SPEAKER: Member for
Hillarys! You do not have to answer, member for Hillarys.
Mr
M. McGOWAN: At any rate, it was a
$2 million investment that we co-funded, with a major hydrogen investment of
around $32 million from FMG, to power its Cloudbreak mine. In a way, government
has worked with industry to leverage a major project, a major investment, that
will create a great many jobs. Our hydrogen future is largely green. It is based upon solar and wind power. If we
desalinate sea water using solar and wind power—the abundant resources
that we have—to produce
hydrogen, we can create an export industry, but we need the basis of it here in
Western Australia before we do that. Showcasing to the world what we can do,
whether it is powering cars here in Perth or powering mine sites in the
Pilbara, sets up an enormous opportunity for the state. This is an exciting
opportunity for Western Australia.
The government has done an enormous
amount for small business. The Minister for Culture and the Arts a moment ago
outlined the $15 million support we are providing, as part of the $72 million,
and, from memory, another $22 million we provided earlier. The $15 million
component was dedicated to live shows that have to get down payments, if you
like, on a facility but they do not know whether they will have sufficient
people attending to guarantee a certain return. That $15 million provides
support for small businesses, which a lot of arts companies are. On top of
that, the Minister for Energy outlined major grants in electricity for around
100 000 small businesses across the state. We are targeting our effort to
leverage the maximum benefit for the state. We are the only state that has
launched a major recovery plan—the $5.5 billion recovery plan. We are
getting on with the job of getting this state back on its feet.