Question Time

Hydrogen Power Plant

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:13): My question is to the Premier. Will the government still deliver its hydrogen plant in full and, if so, when? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: It was reported this week that the Queensland government will not invest any further in the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project due to significant cost blowouts.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:13): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question on an important subject. The South Australian government—or the South Australian Labor Party at the time—committed to our Hydrogen Jobs Plan in the lead-up to the last state election and, through the Office of Hydrogen Power, which sits under the auspices of the Department for Energy and Mining, ever since then has been working assiduously to bring this policy to fruition. We have been candid in the public realm repeatedly, particularly over the course of the last 18 months, that this is an exceptionally complex project and is a unique policy in that it seeks to be globally leading.

One of the key pillars that understands the policy that underpins the Hydrogen Jobs Plan is its location. We made a very conscious and deliberate decision, in no small part on the back of the advocacy from the member for Giles, that the hydrogen project be located in Whyalla immediately adjacent to the steelworks. The reason for that, of course, is we see a substantial opportunity in green iron production, whether it be through hot briquetted iron or in other forms, for an export opportunity into the future.

We made it clear that the government's ambition around the Hydrogen Jobs Plan—and we have been consistent around this, particularly as a result of the work that we have done over the course of the last couple of years—isn't to see to hydrogen export in its rawest form, but in the long term we actually see an opportunity for hydrogen to be used domestically in the production of decarbonised iron—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —into the future. Similarly, as the member for Morphett interjects, there was also the power station element of the policy proposition. I think I have made plainly known in the public realm over a period of time that one of the first elements we were able to sign up to is that power plant function. That is why, as we speak, in the United States—in Ohio—the turbines for the power plant, which have the capability to be powered or fuelled exclusively by hydrogen, are under production and we expect them to be in South Australia in the not-too-distant future. So we remain committed to it but we don't make any apologies for making sure that, as we develop the policy, we do so in concert with would-be off-takers and we particularly have in mind the steelworks.

Now, there is no secret about the fact and we have been very candid about the fact that the steelworks represents a substantial policy challenge at the moment for the state and the country writ large. We know that GFG is enduring very challenging circumstances financially at the moment, and this is of grave concern to the South Australian government. That is why, ever since really September/October last year, through the work of the Steel Task Force, we have been contemplating a suite of policy responses and potential interventions, which may or may not be needed.

The best outcome for the future of Whyalla is, of course, for Mr Gupta to realise his ambitions in and around the steelworks, including its transformation to be able to produce green iron or green steel and then the state government would be in a strong position to partner with that endeavour. Having said that, the government is increasingly concerned, as I have said more recently—in fact, most recently on Thursday of last week when I held a press conference in Whyalla, along with the member for Giles—we remain increasingly concerned about the capability of GFG to be able to invest the capital that is required to realise that transformation.

Having said that, we continue to work on this policy endeavour, because making sure that we realise the full potential of everything that the Upper Spencer Gulf has before it remains a critical economic objective of the government.