THE Australian Workers' Union has today welcomed the momentum toward hydrogen by state governments, but has warned that the massive jobs potential of the zero-carbon fuel source will be squandered if governments don't learn from the lessons of natural gas.

The NSW Government says green hydrogen is essential to securing the long-term future of heavy industry such as steel and chemicals production and will create as many jobs as the coal industry by 2050. And the Queensland Government has given its blessing to the world's largest hydrogen manufacturing facility in Central Queensland. 

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said the immediate jobs potential of hydrogen was obvious, but securing the many multipliers would require a proactive and strategic approach from government.

"Hydrogen is an incredibly exciting opportunity, because it offers fantastic opportunities to workers in the fossil fuel sector," Mr Walton said.

"So long as governments are proactive in making training opportunities available to workers there are obvious synergies and great opportunities to shift from one to the other."

However, Mr Walton warned that Australia's natural gas industry offered a salient warning to the government and voters.

"Australia is one of the most gas-rich nations in the world, but instead of using that wealth to provide affordable energy to our manufacturers, we've given multinationals a no-strings-attached license to pump it offshore to power jobs overseas," Mr Walton said.

"There is potential for the mistake to be repeated with hydrogen if we don't get our policy settings right. For example, if we're investing in hydrogen infrastructure, why not build the electrolysers here? We could be investing massively in Australian manufacturing capacity. 

"We also need a hydrogen reservation policy so a portion of the hydrogen we produce in this country is set aside to sell to Australian factories providing Australian jobs. We can become a renewable energy superpower, but we should be using that strength to help Australian jobs and Australian communities first and foremost.

"We know Australia can become a world leader in hydrogen export, as it has the natural resources for the production of both blue and green hydrogen. But if that's where our hydrogen ambitions begin and end we're leaving hundreds of thousands of quality jobs on the table."

Mr Walton also noted that if Australia was to develop a competitive hydrogen industry with the speed necessary it would need to take a pragmatic approach.

"Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, but we have to realistic in the present. The technology to produce pure green hydrogen at a commercially competitive price simply does not currently exist," Mr Walton said.

"To assist the industry in getting a foothold as soon as possible, hydrogen production in Australia must be from a mix of blue and green hydrogen. The green component can and should become a larger part of the mix as advances in technology permit.

"If we allow purists to insist that governments and industry focus solely on green hydrogen, the sector will remain in stasis for many years. Market demand does not exist for such expensive hydrogen.

"It is not realistic to insist on green hydrogen alone straight off the bat. No one will buy it and the industry will fail before it begins." 

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THE ONLINE green building marketplace, Planitree, is seeing strong early support from more than 280 investors in Australia and overseas with an equity crowdfunding campaign delivered by industry veterans, Birchal.

Building and construction is responsible for 39 percent of all carbon emissions, according to Plaintree, and this Australian start-up is on a mission do something about it.

Planitree aims to accelerate the adoption of green building products and services by making it faster and more convenient to find, purchase and deliver the world’s best solutions for each project – at no cost to the planet through freight carbon offset.

“To get to a net zero economy we need to build greener, faster,” Planitree founder, Jeremy Barnett said.

By setting out to bring together the best solutions for sustainability and wellness, and making it easy to specify and purchase, Planitree aims to accelerate the adoption of green building technologies.

The offer is available on the Birchal platform at https://www.birchal.com/company/planitree

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AT A PUBLIC HEARING on October 13, 2021 the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works will scrutinise a proposal from the Department of Defence for over $266 million in public works supporting Australia’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence program.

This hearing is part of the committee’s inquiry into the Department of Defence, Facilities to support LAND 19 Phase 7B Short Range Ground Base Air Defence at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia, and will examine the need, scope, function and cost effectiveness of the proposed new operational support and training facilities. It will also explore how the proposed works will provide fit-for-purpose facilities and infrastructure for the 16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery to raise, train and sustain new defence capability acquired under the LAND 19 Phase 7B Short Range Ground Based Air Defence program.

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Time: 11am to 12pm (AEDT)
Location: via teleconference

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Note: the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is not involved in the tendering process, awarding of contracts or details of the proposed works. Inquiries on these matters should be addressed to the relevant Commonwealth entities.

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PLASTERBOARD manufacturer Boral has issued a warning to customers that some of their fire-rated plasterboard products may be contaminated with asbestos.

The contamination affects fire-rated plasterboards containing vermiculite imported from China and was discovered in routine testing. The company has told builders to quarantine any Boral fire-rated plasterboard products pending further advice.

“Workers using Boral board need to demand the company inform them whether the products they are using are asbestos free,” CFMEU national construction secretary Dave Noonan said.

“The company says the issue only affects its fire-rated plasterboard and that the level is 0.1 percent of the 3 percent vermiculite put into the board. Yet we know there is no safe level of asbestos exposure so construction businesses must take immediate steps to quarantine potentially contaminated products and ensure workers and customers are safe.

“The CFMEU will engage with the company to eliminate the risk of exposure from factories, distribution centres and construction sites.

“This latest asbestos contamination issue confirms the CFMEU’s repeated warnings that imported building products, particularly those from China, may not be safe," Mr Noonan said.

“We have seen too many instances of building supplies that are manufactured or sourced in poorly regulated markets like China failing basic safety requirements or exposing workers or end customers to unnecessary risk.”

Boral is advising customers to quarantine the following fire-rated plasterboard products and refrain from installing, distributing or supplying them to customers:

• Firestop® Plasterboard
• Fire WetstopTM Plasterboard
• MultistopTM Plasterboard range (3/3HI, 4/4HI, 5/5HI)
• ShaftlinerTM Mould Stop Plasterboard.

Boral said it had stopped using the Chinese-sourced vermiculite and will switch to another source and is arranging for the safe removal of all unused Chinese-sourced vermiculite from their facilities at Camellia, Port Melbourne, and Pinkenba, and is testing all finished products made using vermiculite as an ingredient.

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