Fortescue welcomes tonight’s Hydrogen Headstart announcement which demonstrates how seriously the Government is taking the green hydrogen industry and its critical role in Australia’s future.

This is a great first step. We look forward to working with the government on the broader response over the rest of this year which will catalyse the whole industry in Australia.

Fortescue has the green hydrogen projects in the pipeline ready to go to help drive the Australian industry forward. Green energy will create significant economic growth and prosperity for Australia in the years ahead.

Green hydrogen will lower emissions, create greater energy security for Australia and create new jobs. It is an important part of the decarbonisation of the Australian economy.

Over the years ahead the hydrogen industry in Australia will create tens of thousands of jobs according to independent modelling from Deloitte.

Fortescue is one of the most successful iron ore companies in the world and we are proud to have helped contribute to the Government’s surplus and to many federal and state budgets over previous years. In FY22, Fortescue paid AU$4.2 billion in corporate tax and AU$1.6 billion in State Government royalties.

We welcome the additional critical minerals commitment of $57.1 million announced tonight.

Further, we welcome the greater definition around the reforms of the EPBC Act including the timeframe and role of the new Environmental Protection Australia.

As we increasingly require a wider range of skills across the Fortescue Group, we support the Government’s proposed reforms for the Skilled Migration Act.

Finally, Fortescue supports the Safeguard Mechanism and its implementation across the industry and incorporation into the Budget. Our aim is to make fossil fuels redundant across our operations by 2030 (Scope 1 and 2).