HYDROGEN POWER PLANT —
QUEENSLAND
566. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for State Development,
Jobs and Trade:
I refer to Andrew Forrest's
decision to base a $1 billion hydrogen project in Queensland instead of in his
home state of Western Australia, despite our world-class renewable resources
and energy expertise.
(1) Can the
minister confirm media reports that Andrew Forrest went to Queensland because
the minister was unable to provide 40 hectares of suitable industrial land?
(2) How is it
possible that the minister was unable to provide such a small parcel of land in
such a massive state as Western Australia?
Mr R.H.
COOK replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the question. Obviously, I am
not going to speculate as to the reason Andrew Forrest made his
investment decisions; they are for him and for him alone. I believe that Andrew
Forrest is a great Western Australian. He
has been responsible for the development of this state, particularly the
resources and agriculture sectors, and has a great vision for this state in
relation to the future of green energy, particularly through hydrogen
and green steel. We are working with Mr Forrest on a range of projects and we
continue to engage with him actively. We actively engage with a whole range of
proponents that are interested in developing hydrogen projects. This has led to
more than 30 hydrogen projects and active planning across the state. We are
working with dozens of proponents on large-scale hydrogen projects from
Kununurra to Eucla and we anticipate making announcements on developments in
the coming months.
No work had been done on hydrogen and
alternative energies when we came to government. This government appointed the
Minister for Hydrogen Industry. In addition, in our latest budget we had a funding boost, and we now have around $90 million
on the table to drive this industry forward. As I said, Fortescue Metals Group has enormous ambitions in Western
Australia, which we are working to facilitate, including further manufacturing opportunities in the north west. The government
will work with Fortescue and other companies as we continue to diversify
our economy. We are doing that at pace. We have a range of initiatives and
policy frameworks in place at the moment, which is driving the diversification
of this state, including the $100 million investment attraction and new
industries fund. This afternoon, I had a roundtable meeting with industry
leaders, who are excited about the opportunities afforded by the McGowan
government because they can see a government that is proactive and keen to
partner with them to realise this
diversified economic future for the state. We have the $50 million industrial
land development fund and invested
$105 million into building a state-of-the-art film studio in Fremantle. We are
establishing the WA jobs task force, providing funding to entice
international students after the COVID-19 pandemic, and of course we have
funded significant infrastructure upgrades at the Australian Marine Complex,
which is sprouting all kinds of economic opportunities around advanced
manufacturing. On the subject of advanced manufacturing, we will soon undertake
the global advanced manufacturing inquiry to really examine where the
opportunities are going forward.
This government is proactive and
seeking opportunities to diversify our economy and making strategic investments
to make them happen. I think everyone in this state, particularly in industry,
is excited about the possibilities in the future.