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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-11-29 Daily Xml
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Hydrogen Jobs Plan

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:23): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister update the house on the government's progress on the election commitment to deliver its Hydrogen Jobs Plan?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:23): I thank the member for his question because I know he has a keen interest, as it impacts his home town dramatically. The key elements of the project have progressed well, which I will try to summarise in the short time I have available.

Establish an expert panel and receive reports on the most appropriate location for our assets—check. Establish a dedicated—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —Office of Hydrogen Power SA to deliver the project and ultimately run the operations—

The Hon. J.K. Szakacs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Cheltenham is called to order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.K. Szakacs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Cheltenham knows better. The minister has the call.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Establish a dedicated Office of Hydrogen Power SA to deliver the project and ultimately run the operations of the plant as a debt-free government business enterprise—check. Undertake a thorough market sounding to gauge the private sector's appetite for—

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —the project and receive interest from 60 companies from all over the globe—check.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sixty.

The SPEAKER: Member for Florey!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond! The minister has the call.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Establish relationships and sign seven statements of cooperation with major industry partners to work together—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —to accelerate the development of South Australia's hydrogen energy economy and fast-track the global transition to clean energy—check. Start engagement for the development of a new hydrogen and renewable energy act to serve as a single window into government for the orderly and competitive development of hydrogen projects and large-scale renewable energy projects—check. Pre-engagement with native title groups on this world-class—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Schubert! Member for Hartley! The minister has the call.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Something about Victoria and the weekend?

The SPEAKER: The minister won't respond to interjections.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sorry. Pre-engagement with native title groups on this world-first act has occurred and broader engagement has now begun. The government has already hosted a two-day forum in Port Augusta earlier this month where I was joined by the Attorney-General and where many South Australian Aboriginal leaders gathered to discuss the growing renewable energy and hydrogen sector.

The forum provided an initial opportunity for Indigenous groups and the government to work together to share information about guiding the successful development of renewable energy and the hydrogen economy. We wanted to make sure that our first Australians were the people we spoke with first about utilising the vast resources that we have in this state of our sun and wind.

I think it's fair to say that it was one of the best engagements I have seen as a minister, and that was shared by the local groups there. The Hydrogen Jobs Plan is not just a suite of world-first government-owned assets but it is also an opportunity to catalyse private investment in hydrogen projects, large-scale renewable energy projects and domestic value-adds by adding complexity to our economy. That is why it's called the Hydrogen Jobs Plan. The steps we have achieved so far—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morphett, order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morphett can ask questions in the usual way.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I'm not usually up to attacking those who are infirm. I know the member is recovering from surgery and I will give him the benefit of the doubt, but the new interconnector has claimed its first victim: Torrens Island. I think those 100 families that work at Torrens Island deserve an explanation from the opposition about their plans and they received none. In fact, what they were told was—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Florey is warned.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —this is just progress. They deserve better than that. The steps we have achieved so far are necessary on the journey to achieve our vision for private investment in South Australia in the order of billions of dollars while maintaining our beautiful landscapes and respecting traditional owners of this land.

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