“SHARPER ELBOWS”
Australia could not match the United States’ investment dollar for dollar, he will say, but the country would be able to compete for international investment.
A world-leading exporter of minerals such as iron ore and coal, resource-rich Australia will not just play to its “traditional strengths”, he said, but also offer new products and services to new markets.
“We need this change in thinking and approach because the global economic circumstances are changing in ways far more profound than the consequences of the pandemic or conflict alone,” Albanese will say.
“We need sharper elbows when it comes to marking out our national interest.”
The act would boost investment in Australia’s renewable energy resources, including battery production, like green hydrogen, green metals, create more jobs and ensure a competitive economy, he will say.
Tim Buckley, director of independent public interest think tank Climate Energy Finance, said the act would lay the foundations to make Australia a zero-emissions trade and investment leader and global clean energy “superpower”.
About 27 per cent of the Australian economic output came from exports to international partners and this new act would have flow-on effects and help them decarbonise as well, Buckley told AFP.
“State intervention is the new competition. We can’t afford to ‘sit it out’. The Future Made In Australia Act puts Australia into the global race. It is the investment signal and de-risking private capital needs,” he said.
But he said greater details were needed to ensure that local, state and federal governments worked together on ensuring the act was rolled out smoothly.
Source: CNA
