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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-31 Daily Xml
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Hydrogen Sector

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (14:30): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier update the house on what steps the government is taking to support the growth of the hydrogen sector in South Australia?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:30): I want to thank the member for Newland for her question. I think the member for Newland well understands the extraordinary opportunity that we have here in the state of South Australia surrounding the hydrogen industry. I know the member for Newland is keen on two things in particular: (1) is more jobs for South Australians and (2) is making sure that this government does everything we can to ensure we make a positive contribution globally—globally—when it comes to the decarbonisation of energy but, more specifically, the decarbonisation of heavy industry, and I thank her for the question.

You can't help but get the sense that as a global community we are on the precipice of extraordinary change when it comes to decarbonisation and the way energy operates. We are currently confronting two very significant challenges in western modern economies: the first one is the decarbonisation effort that must occur in order to avoid global warming by over 2°, and the second of course is the geopolitical difficulties that the world is experiencing at the moment. In no small part energy security is a component or a variable that underpins that instability. Hydrogen represents a very significant opportunity to address both of those challenges, and South Australia is really in pole position to capitalise on that opportunity.

As we speak, there are approximately 800 delegates at the Adelaide Convention Centre for the Australian Hydrogen Conference. This is a very important opportunity for key leaders within hydrogen to get together in person, exchange ideas and knowledge and develop relationships to continue to grow the industry. There is a very large delegation from Germany in particular, and also the Netherlands as well, because Germany, probably more than any other major economic power, is pursuing the hydrogen technological leap. They are doing this necessarily to underpin their heavy industry at a time they are seeking to become less reliant, particularly on Russian gas.

Here in South Australia, because of our coincident wind and solar resource, we know that we can be a global leader in hydrogen. All the work that we have done as a state around renewables puts us in a very strong position to take the next leap forward when it comes to decarbonisation technology, particularly around hydrogen. We went to the election with a very bold policy, a deliberately ambitious policy, with our Hydrogen Jobs Plan. There was no shortage of critics of this policy, particularly coming from those opposite, opposed to our Hydrogen Jobs Plan, opposed to our hydrogen jobs policy—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —and that is their prerogative. They can line up with the former Prime Minister, who compared the big battery with the Big Banana. They can line up with that side of the argument, or they can get on board quickly.

Today, at the conference I announced that the South Australian government has commenced a market-sounding process inviting local, national and international organisations to provide technical, system and commercial approaches, including around design and delivery concepts, to make sure we deliver our Hydrogen Jobs Plan on schedule, which is due to be completed by the next election. The market-sounding process will be open for six weeks, commencing today—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morphett!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —well, that's before the election—and closing before 15 July. For all those who want to—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morphett!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —register their interest and submit proposals, they can do so through the South Australian—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —Tenders and Contracts website at tenders.sa.gov.au. There was no shortage of interest in the room this morning at this opportunity. We are ready to deliver, we are ready to capitalise on this opportunity and we hope the rest of the state, including those opposite, get behind it.

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