State Development Minister Roger Cook and Hydrogen Minister Alannah MacTiernan must be stripped of their portfolios following yesterday’s announcement that Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest is establishing one of the world’s largest hydrogen-equipment manufacturing plants in Queensland, instead of WA.
“It defies belief that Andrew Forrest would choose to establish a $1 billion green hydrogen manufacturing in Queensland over his home state of WA, which has world class renewable resources for green hydrogen production,” said Liberal Leader and Shadow Hydrogen Minister David Honey.
“This points to a complete failure by WA Labor to put in place the necessary infrastructure and incentives to develop green hydrogen export jobs, including failures on the Oakajee Industrial Estate and the transmission line to Geraldton.
“Green hydrogen and its associated value-adding jobs are arguably the single largest new economic opportunity in Western Australia in the last 50 years.
“However, unlike iron ore, oil and gas it is a globally competitive market and Western Australia is being left behind and this will have long-term implications for jobs and the economy.
“WA Labor’s Hydrogen Strategy is considered an embarrassment by industry, and they have only committed $7 million to Oakajee, which will deliver nothing except perhaps an entrance roundabout.
“We have pushed WA Labor repeatedly on what they are doing and what they have delivered, and the answer is always the same – nothing.
“Now we are seeing the brutal consequences of these failures, Western Australia is being left behind in the energy export jobs race.
“State Development Minister Roger Cook is clearly out of his depth and distracted by the chaos in his Health portfolio.
“Hydrogen Minister MacTiernan has clearly failed to capture first mover advantage, despite Western Australia’s energy resource competitive advantage. In fact, the Minister has failed to deliver anything of substance in the Hydrogen portfolio.
“That is why I am calling on both Ministers to be stripped of their respective portfolios and given to someone with the energy, intellectual acumen as well as the dedicated focus to get Western Australia back into the hydrogen race.”
