Press Conference - Port of Newcastle Carrington, NSW
08 November 2021
Mr Craig Carmody, CEO of the Port of Newcastle: Good morning everyone. The Port of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and waters that we operate on, the Awabakal and Worimi people, and we pay our respects to their elders, past, present and future. I'm Craig Carmody, the CEO of the Port of Newcastle, and I'm joined by Mike McKensey. Mike is Divisional Director of Macquarie Group and our partner in this project.
Mr Mike McKensey, Divisional Director of Macquarie Group: Thank you all for coming today. Prime Minister, on behalf of Macquarie Group and the Port welcome back again. The last time the PM was here, we showed him our plans for a container terminal, a key diversification strategy of ours. Today, we're very happy to show him the other diversification plan we have, which is clean energy. Macquarie Group and the Port of Newcastle have come together to do a step change for the region of the Hunter, which is to prepare us for the low carbon economy. We are the world's largest exporting coal port, so we know that diversification is not a nice to have, it's a must do. And we are confident we can achieve this. We are already a leading global port and we have the supply chains. We have the customers. We have the markets. So it makes sense for us to make this play. We believe our diversification strategy is entirely consistent with the Prime Minister and Government's net zero plan. It's about supporting existing jobs and businesses, while seizing the opportunities that the new carbon economy, or the low emission economy creates. And Prime Minister with your support for these life changing projects, we are sure that the port will be able to assist in creating jobs and businesses that secure the future of the Hunter. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Thank you. Thank you Craig and thank you Mike, and all the partners in the important announcement we're making today. And I'll introduce Nell and Brooke in just a moment. Australia's economic recovery coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic recession is well underway. The Australian economy is powering out of this pandemic in a way that few countries are around the world. We know that we've had one of the lowest rates of fatalities of COVID of any country in the world. We also know now with the New South Wales about to tip over 90 per cent double dose vaccination, the country over 80 per cent. We'll have one of the most vaccinated populations anywhere in the world, and most importantly, our economy is the economy around the world. One of the most advanced developed economies in the world that is powering its way out of this COVID pandemic. We're seeing that with our businesses, some $150 billion on their balance sheets, we're seeing the insolvencies that are down. We're seeing businesses taking up the new opportunities. And that is critically true here in the Hunter.
And the partnership that is being brought together here in the Hunter is incredibly exciting. The Hunter has gone through its fair share of changes over my lifetime, and what's really exciting is how the Hunter keeps adapting, keeps evolving, keeps seeing the opportunities that are ahead, but also maintaining that rich legacy of its history, its industrial base. And it keeps finding ways to move forward, creating jobs for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people right across the region, securing those opportunities, but at the same time, maintaining the momentum that it's always had. It's a place that builds things, a place that makes things, a place that innovates and ensures that it's bringing its young people through so they can stay here. They can have a career here, they can raise their families in what is a beautiful part of our country. And today we're announcing $1.5 million as part of a partnership together with the Port of Newcastle and Macquarie Group. And there are many other partners to play a role, with the University of Newcastle, the City of Lake Macquarie. So many partners coming together to ensure that hydrogen, a hydrogen hub here in particular can be a great success.
Hydrogen is one of those great technological opportunities for Australia, which is recognised all around the world. When I was in Glasgow recently, it is understood. You want to get hydrogen, this is the place to get it. And this is why we need to invest here in places like the Hunter because we make it work here, it will work in so many like regions all around the country. Our plans to move to a lower emissions future very much has the Hunter at the centre of our thinking. Everything we do, every plan we have, every investment we're making is making sure it works here in the Hunter because we know if it works here, it will work to create jobs and prosperity all across the country. So that's why I'm always so pleased to come back. One of the reasons it worked so well in the Hunter is because of the collaboration between the state government, the federal government, local government, the ports, the universities, the companies that are here, the entrepreneurs who are investing their own funds to ensure that this can be realised. We're investing $1.2 billion in our hydrogen industry here in Australia to make this work and our entrepreneurs, our industrialists, our scientists and researchers are making this happen to make sure that this technology is affordable, that it's simple, that it's scalable. And you know, we get that right here, Australia will be able to export this to the rest of the world. So this is a huge opportunity. A 40 megawatt electrolyser, four times the size of things currently under contemplation here in Australia, and that will go up to a thousand megawatts. And that will mean that right here in the port of Newcastle, the world will be able to plug into Australia's hydrogen industry well into the future. And when you plug that in, you're plugging the Hunter into jobs well into the future. So it is a very exciting plan. It is a very exciting future here for the Hunter. It sits absolutely perfectly within our lower emissions technology plan to take Australia forward and to power up Australia's recovery out of the COVID pandemic. So I'm very pleased to be here to be announcing that today. Renewable Energy Agency, ARENA, is the vehicle through which we're making these investments, through which we're making so many other investments. $20 billion together with the CFC, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, together with the Renewable Energy Agency, pumping into the new technologies, whether it's hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, low cost soil carbon management measurement, the green steel and aluminium, all of these important technology targets that we will meet and drive our economy forward.
So with that, I want to introduce Nell McGill and Brooke Vitnell. Nell is our candidate, Liberal candidate here in Shortland, and Brooke Vitnell is our candidate in Paterson. They're key members of my team, and I'm really thrilled that they've been able to step forward and take up these roles and put themselves forward in the Hunter. Because together, by supporting them, the Hunter is supporting their own future, the jobs, the investment, the technology that will continue to see the Hunter have a very powered up future. And with that, I'll start with Brooke and then hand over to Nell.
Brooke Vitnell, Liberal Candidate for Paterson: Thank you, Prime Minister. My name is Brooke Vitnell and I am the Liberal candidate for Paterson at the upcoming federal election. I have the great privilege of welcoming our Prime Minister Scott Morrison here to the Hunter region today. This is our Prime Minister's fifth visit to the Hunter in the last 18 months. So I know he's committed to the Hunter and committed to jobs here in the Hunter. Here, we have a proud history of digging, bending, making and shaping things. And I know our Prime Minister backs the jobs of each and every single one of the people working in those industries. I have a pledge in particular to the people of Paterson. I pledge to put the people of Paterson first every single day. I want to see Paterson be a better place for people to have economic opportunities, jobs, more jobs for our most precious resource, our young people. I'm a firm believer that those putting up their hand to run for the community they seek to represent need to match the strength and aspiration of that community and when I look at the Paterson electorate, I see strong and aspirational Aussies right across the Paterson electorate. So, thank you Prime Minister for your commitment to the Hunter. Thank you.
Nell McGill, Liberal Candidate for Shortland: I'm Nell McGill, I'm the Liberal candidate for Shortland. I'm so proud to once again be the Liberal candidate for Shortland. I want to say thank you to the Prime Minister and Senator Hughes for being here on this exciting day. I want to be a fresh and positive voice for Shortland. The Hunter is going to be an economic powerhouse coming out of COVID and under the Morrison Government's plan to reach net zero by 2050. And that means fantastic opportunities in Shortland. My focus is going to be the jobs and infrastructure that we need, so the people of Shortland have safe and happy lives and happy futures. I'm really looking forward to getting out and meeting as many people as I can to find out what the people in Shortland want to make their lives better. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Happy to take some questions, focusing on things local at first, and then I am sure there are other questions.
Journalist: Prime Minister, could you first explain the hydrogen hub? What does it actually mean? How does it work for the people at home?
Prime Minister: Well, what this means is, hydrogen has been around for a long time and it is the future fuel, whether it's how it produces ammonia as well, which could be used in coal fired power plants, not just here, but all around the rest of the world. It is the fuel that can charge up our mining trucks and get them operating, and power vehicles to travel extremely long distances. It is the fuel that actually can over time ensure that it can make up, in some estimates, 10 per cent of the world's energy needs. And Australia is so well placed with this because we have the space and we have the technology and we have partnerships with, take companies like Sun Cable, which is another low emissions technology venture. You combine that with the work that is being done in hydrogen hubs which we’ve set up all around the country in places just like the Hunter, which get a combination of science and the engineering and the technologies, the university together building up in skills. And you take that through to how you do powering up your manufacturing industries as well. Hydrogen is simply a fuel that can power our traditional industries and our energy generation. It means lower cost, and it means more jobs for the Hunter.
Journalist: Prime Minister, you said [inaudible[, so what message did you sell to Glasgow and how was it received? And do other countries recognise we are doing this?
Prime Minister: Our commitment to net zero by 2050 is not going to be achieved by legislating jobs away. It's not going to be achieved by forcing people to do things. It's going to be achieved by getting the costs of the technologies that change the world, down. Not by putting the cost of other things up. You don't have to put electricity prices up to get emissions down. You don't have to sell out your economy and the jobs in your economy to get your emissions down. Australia has had a 20.8 per cent fall in our emissions since 2005, and we've had a 45 per cent increase in the size of our economy. And at the same time, we've actually developed one of the largest LNG industries in the world. Our emissions intensity has fallen by 56 per cent. Now, there's only one other country in the G20, which I told them in Rome, that has a better performance than Australia when it comes to emissions intensity, and that's the United Kingdom. Better than all the other countries in the G20, and there are only four countries that have actually had a better performance on emissions reduction in the G20 than Australia. And that's France, Italy and the United Kingdom and Germany. That's it. And all the others, Australia has outperformed.
What I was able to say in Glasgow, is Australia is doing it. We're doing it here in the Hunter. We're doing it up in the Pilbara, we're doing it up in Darwin, we're doing it up in north Queensland. We're doing it down in Bell Bay in Tasmania. Australia is doing it our way, the Australian way. The Australian way is not legislating jobs away. It's not putting costs on businesses. It's actually providing the right incentives and the right investments to make technology a reality. You get hydrogen for $2 AUD per kilo and you are really starting to fire up your economy and the economies of our partners around the world. Now let me make another point about that because it wasn't just developed advanced economies from Europe that I was meeting with in Glasgow. It was Indonesia, Vietnam, countries in our own region, India, developing economies. Developing economies who need this technology and they need it at the right price. And so they can scale it. You're not going to address climate change unless you can put low cost technology in developing countries like that. Countries like Indonesia and Vietnam and India. They're looking to Australia for that. In the same way our big trading partners, when I met with the new Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Kishida, as well as the President Moon from Korea. These are the issues we were talking about. Australia has always been a big energy partner for our region. And, you know, with programmes like this, we will continue to be. So if you're working here in the Hunter, well, you've got a bright future.
Journalist: Prime Minister, when will you release the net zero modelling?
Prime Minister: Soon.
Journalist: Do you have a, do you have an estimation then?
Prime Minister: Soon.
Journalist: A few months?
Prime Minister: Soon.
Journalist: And when will we see the details of the deal struck with The Nationals, do taxpayers have a right to see what that deal was to get that agreement?
Prime Minister: We're already outlining our policies and all of that we'll announce between now and the next election, which will show the big investments that we're making in the regions to back in these investments we're making, particularly in new technologies like the hydrogen hubs all around the country. The investments we're making in the regions are about them making those regions stronger. And so that's a good deal for Australia.
Journalist: Just on the local picture, you've got Brooke and Nell here, front and centre today, you must be confident then that you can flip those two electorates, Shortland and Paterson?
Prime Minister: Well, I think they represent the right way forward for the Hunter. Nell and Brooke represent a way forward for the Hunter, which is about ensuring we maintain the momentum of the heavy industry that is here in the Hunter, while at the same time embracing the new opportunities. You don't have to let one go to take up the other. And what the Liberal Nationals way forward here for the Hunter is to embrace that industry, to support that industry, to ensure that they can compete around the world and be and be world's best in these areas, and to ensure that we don't legislate away the jobs. I mean, the Labor Party is against the Kurri Kurri gas fired power station, and now we hear they're going to legislate to tighten up the safeguard mechanism using heavy regulation to regulate away jobs here in the Hunter. That's what their plan is. The Labor Party is always the same way. They want to tell you what to do. They want to legislate everything. They don't trust Australians to just get on and do it. We've been able to reduce emissions by over 20 per cent in this country because of the inspiration of entrepreneurs, good investment and good support from governments through our Emissions Reduction Fund, our Climate Solutions Fund, which continues to be a big part of our net zero plan, which is bringing about the changes that help us meet these targets. The Labor Party just wants to legislate everything and tell you what to do. That's not what Brooke and Nell are about, they're about backing the decisions of locals with what they want to do.
Journalist: Prime Minister, in one sentence, can you tell us why Australians should return you as PM based on your record?
Prime Minister: We have, through the course of this pandemic, had the strongest economic performance of almost any country in the world. Now there's only been one recession in the last 30 years because of that pandemic here in Australia, and we've got 1.4 million people in jobs since we were first elected. The unemployment rate now is down 0.6 per cent. We've managed to maintain our AAA credit rating, one of only 9 countries to do so in the world. And we've done that with one of the lowest fatality rates in the world, and we'll end up with one of the highest vaccination rates. Australia, under our government, has had the strength to stand up to those who would seek to counter our interest. You've got to have the strength to do those things. And our government has the strength to stand up for Australia and importantly, do the right things by our economy that keeps people in jobs.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the West Australian Government has committed to reopening its borders to the rest of Australia at a 90 per cent vaccine rate. Will you be asking Mark McGowan to reconsider this? Have you spoken to him?
Prime Minister: Well, I just spoke to him last Friday. We had the National Cabinet. The modelling done by the Doherty Institute makes it very clear, and that's what was agreed in the national plan, not just once but twice. And that is, once you hit 80 per cent double dose vaccination rates, then you're able to move forward. We're seeing that here in New South Wales. We're seeing it in Victoria, seeing it in the ACT and the most recent work done by Doherty just backs that in even further. Of course, there's a big difference between 70 and 80 per cent. When you look at the curve of the pandemic, once you hit 80 per cent, whether it's a low number of cases you're going into like would be the case in Western Australia, or a high number of cases like we've seen in New South Wales and Victoria. Once you hit that 80 per cent threshold, there is a scientifically backed-in proposition, which is that you can take the next step. And the advice we have from the Secretary of Treasury from Dr Kennedy is once you go over 80 per cent and you keep things locked down, you are doing more harm than good to your economy. You are actually putting a price on Australians, when you continue to put heavy restrictions on your economy, once you get 80 per cent vaccination rates. So the national plan was a deal with Australians. My government is keeping our part of that deal. Australians and keeping their part of the deal. Today, the boosters start. The boosters start on November 8. Those who are immunocompromised have been getting their booster shots. Looking forward to turning up and having one very, very shortly. And those booster shots are important. But what's even more important is the fact that here in New South Wales today, we will go through that 90 per cent threshold of double dose vaccinated and that will only just further strengthen our economy.
Journalist: [inaudible].
Prime Minister: They were dealt with a year ago by the Department of Finance who found that there was nothing further to investigate.
Journalist: Prime Minister, locally, one thing you haven't been able to get on with here is the container terminal, there's been a change in the state coalition government. Can you update us on how you see this playing out?
Prime Minister: Well, I've always thought this is a good plan, and I've said that while I've been here before. The ACCC have been dealing with these matters and they really want the parties to be able to sort this out, and I certainly hope they do because I just want to see more investment, whether it's in the Port of Newcastle or right across the region. There is, this footprint here at the Port of Newcastle, I think is incredibly valuable, not just for the jobs that are out here, but the linkage it gives to right across the region and frankly, the whole state. I mean, this is the biggest port on the eastern seaboard of our country. And so this is a very big deal and we want to see that to continue to go forward and be highly competitive. So that's what our economic objective is. We're very hopeful that parties could resolve that so they can actually take it forward.
Journalist: Is there something to be done at your level, Prime Minister?
Prime Minister: Well, there's not much further that we can do at our level. What we need is the parties to be able to sort it out and get on with it.
Journalist: What's your response to allegations aired on 60 Minutes last night that the Assistant Treasurer is rorting or misusing taxpayer funds for party political purposes?
Prime Minister: Well, I just answered that question a second ago.
Journalist: Are you confident children aged between 5 and 11 will get a COVID vaccine by the end of the year? Or is it now looking more likely to be next year?
Prime Minister: Well look, thanks for the question. We discussed this last Friday. The TGA, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, have not yet formed a medical opinion that that should proceed at this point. And the studies, we were advised last Friday, that led to the decision in the United States were based on a sample of some 3,000 individual cases. Now vaccinating children aged 5 to 11, you know, we need to be very careful. We need to be very cautious. And I can tell you that we won't take a further step on this unless there is clear medical advice that it should proceed. Any parent, I'm sure, would want the government to be as careful as possible with the whole population, particularly children aged 5 to 11. We've also been advised by the Chief Medical Officer that the incidence of serious disease amongst younger children with COVID is not the same for the rest of the population, so the risk is different for children aged 5 to 11 compared with those who are older. So we'll be ready to go if and when the medical experts say it's safe to do so and we won't be authorising a vaccination arrangement for children aged 5 to 11 until the medical experts say it's safe for your children to be vaccinated. Okay, thanks, everyone. Thank you.
