Ladies and gentlemen, it's just our pleasure here to welcome everyone to the University of Newcastle, and for a very important announcement. It's my great pleasure to welcome one of the best friends that the university could ever have is our local Member, Sharon Claydon. And Sharon here will be introducing our Prime Minister who's going to make an important announcement around where we believe the university should be working, which is collaboratively with industry to solve Australia's energy challenges going forward with clean energy solutions. So with those words, I'm going to introduce our best friend, Sharon Claydon.
SHARON CLAYDON, MEMBER FOR NEWCASTLE: Thank you, Vice-Chancellor. It's always a joy to be back at the University of Newcastle. Thank you also to the Chancellor, Patricia Forsythe, my colleague, Pat Conroy, electoral neighbour, good friend also of the university, and of course, our Prime Minister. It's very fitting that the first official visitor to the University of Newcastle in 2025 should be the Prime Minister of Australia, because it's the Prime Minister who is driving a government who is looking forward and helping shape the future for regions like ours. On that note, I'm going to give a big welcome to the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well thanks so much Sharon and Pat and to everyone from the university who is here with us today. Importantly as well, thank you to all the business leaders who've joined with us here today. I spoke at the Nexus Dinner last year at Newcastle Town Hall, and there I spoke about the need to develop future industries, the need to be optimistic and seize the opportunities to build Australia's future here in Newcastle. And this is a tremendous example. Here this morning, I've looked at a structure for the conversion of ammonia into hydrogen to drive heavy vehicles. We've looked at carbon capture and storage and how it can be captured as well. And we've looked at a waste to hydrogen as well, innovative technology that can make an enormous difference. These are just three examples of what we can do if we seize the opportunities which are there, if we encourage innovation and importantly commercialise them as well. I earlier today, was at Tomago talking about the need to make more things here in Australia and to continue to support the aluminium industry. And this announcement is also so important about Australia's national interest going forward and seizing those opportunities. And we will invest $20 million in the Future Industries Facility here at the University of Newcastle, importantly, as well, what this will do is to mobilise private capital and investment, as well, in innovation. It will provide, as well as the facility where students can come in and test whether new innovations, new technology, work. If you have companies on their own, particularly start-ups and new technologies, then it is difficult for them to find a facility to be able to invest the capital. What this does is facilitate innovation, investment and eventually of course, with success, jobs and economic growth here in the Hunter but also very much in the national interest. And can I say that with some of the technologies that I have no doubt will be produced here on Future Industries, they not only will assist our national economy, they will help to drive the transition that we know is so important in the transition to net zero globally as well. That's important in dealing with the challenge of dealing with climate change, but also seizing the opportunity that comes with dealing with that challenge. It's these sort of technologies that are being developed here that will help drive jobs and the economy here in this great region of Newcastle, and it's fantastic the role that the university plays, and I congratulate the VC, the Chancellor, all of the professors who are here with us as well on the important work that they do. And also the collaboration that occurs with the private sector. This is world's best practice right here in Newcastle. Thanks very much.
