Green Steel

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:40): My question is to the Acting Premier. Is the Acting Premier confident that there will be a green steel market available for any offtake arrangement with the proposed hydrogen power station? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr PATTERSON: In a 16 November article in the Australian Financial Review, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries president said that there remain many uncertainties around green hydrogen and that it was still unclear how it would be used in the steel industry in Australia.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:41): It's a fascinating question—a fascinating question. Given the opposition's now new-found scepticism on hydrogen, especially green hydrogen—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —it begs the question: why announce a hydrogen hub? Why announce a hydrogen hub with the Morrison government?

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Why would you claim that there might not be a market for green steel, which is generated through green hydrogen, but yet commit to the sale of Port Bonython land for the purposes of a hydrogen hub for the export of hydrogen for companies like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries?

If you look at the press releases of the former government, of which members opposite were members—albeit strapped to the back of a car, sort of out of control—why would they do a deal with the commonwealth government to invest $30 million into a hydrogen hub at Port Bonython if its merits are experimental? Why would they have done that? Could it be, perhaps, that they had seen the former government's, the Weatherill government's, hydrogen road map and thought, 'There's something in this'?

If we are using coking coal to beneficiate iron, and coal emits lots of carbon, and we have to decarbonise steel, and it’s a hard to abate industry, and we have abundant amounts of renewable energy and abundant amounts of magnetite and a steelworks and a port and the best magnetite resources anywhere in Australia—

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —do you reckon that the South Australian government, whether it be Labor or Liberal, might think about a green steel strategy? I reckon they might. Why would it be that the Japanese government, or any other government, might be worrying about green steel? Could it be that it wrecks their plans to maintain those industries in their own countries, and that it could mean they have to import HBI from somewhere else rather than beneficiate it in their own countries? Could it mean that they have to import steel from someone else? Could it mean that Menzies' legacy of selling pig iron to the Japanese while they were bombing us could have been a bad idea? Could it be, potentially, that this country might actually—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —want to beneficiate its own iron ore resources? Could it be? So yes, we are looking at it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We are looking at developing our own steel industries and making them larger.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey! Member for Hartley!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We are looking at beneficiating iron ore. We are looking at exporting green steel with green iron. Of course we are. Why wouldn't we? It's a good idea. Members opposite thought about it as well. They toyed with it. Why they did is because they were investing money in a hydrogen hub to export green hydrogen to Japan, Korea, China, Europe and the United States—and so are we. We think it's a good idea.

It's one of the programs members opposite had in place that we did not stop, we doubled down on, but, in fact, we made one particular change: whereas members opposite, when they were auctioning off land at Port Bonython, had no requirement that the land be auctioned off for the purposes of hydrogen, we have ensured that every bit of land that would be auctioned off is for the production and export of green hydrogen to our trading partners Japan, Korea, Germany, and anyone else who wants to beneficiate their steel industry. We are not going to continue exporting our base products to the rest of the world; we are going to add complexity to our economy here in South Australia. We want those advanced manufacturing jobs here, not just in Japan.