Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (15:55): The Albanese Labor government is doing more than ever to protect our environment, reduce emissions and tackle climate change. We are protecting more of our natural world, fixing more of what's been damaged and working hard to care for the places that we love. When I ran for parliament nearly three years ago, I ran with three core beliefs: I care about people, I care about jobs and I care about the planet. I am so proud to belong to a government that shares these values and has worked day in and day out to move our country forward.
For nearly 10 years, we saw the detrimental effect of what successive coalition governments had done—or failed to do—to combat climate change. They took the country backwards. In the decade that they were in government, the energy industry announced that 24 of 28 coal-fired power stations would close within a decade. They had no plans for what would be replacing their electricity and no plans to help the huge workforces supporting these power stations as they transitioned.
When it comes to powering Australia, nothing will beat our sun and wind. Reliable renewables are the cheapest source of power, and we have them in abundance in Australia. Steel production has always been at the heart of the Illawarra's identity, but with a global shift towards net zero BlueScope are working tirelessly to reduce their carbon footprint and adapting their practices to help Australia achieve our target by 2050.
We still want to maintain the capability of producing good Australian steel in the Illawarra. We know producing steel and powering homes and businesses takes a lot of energy. Producing green steel using low-emissions technology will take even more energy. The Albanese Labor government has a plan that is supported by experts to deliver clean, cheap and reliable energy to all Australians. In just 2½ years we have already delivered a 25 per cent increase of renewables in the grid through 64 different renewable energy projects, which is enough to power more than three million homes. To reduce our emissions, the Albanese Labor government's safeguard mechanism is reducing climate pollution at Australia's largest industrial facilities and, by 2030, it will have worked to slash climate pollution by 200 million tonnes. That's the equivalent of taking two-thirds of the nation's cars off the road over the same period.
While the country continues to progress reliable renewable projects, the Illawarra is charging ahead and is on the cusp of becoming an industry leader in clean energy and manufacturing. With the declaration of the renewable energy zone, we have attracted over $43 billion in potential investments across 44 projects, including wind, solar, energy storage, hydrogen production and green steel manufacturing. The announcement of the REZ paved the way for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to officially declare the Illawarra offshore wind zone on 15 June this year. The zone highlights our region's ideal conditions for harnessing wind power and the ability to provide the infrastructure and workforce needed for such a groundbreaking project. The Illawarra is a region of innovation in manufacturing, with the steelworks and local associated industries still providing secure, well-paying jobs for the Illawarra. Offshore wind projects could provide an additional 1,740 jobs during construction and 870 ongoing, secure, well-paying jobs in our local community.
We won't only be creating jobs; we will be giving our engineering and science graduates from the University of Wollongong the chance to find a job in their home town. The steelworks currently use 750,000 megawatt hours of grid supplied electricity across the steelworks each year. This equates to the usage of about 150,000 households. For context, in Wollongong we have approximately 130,000 households. To make green steel, BlueScope estimates that they will need 15 times the current amount of electricity that they use in traditional steelmaking. Not only does our offshore wind project support so many jobs but it also supports the jobs that already exist as part of the Illawarra's vital industrial base.
We remain committed to driving forward projects that will reduce emissions, create jobs and safeguard our environment. In the Illawarra, local industries have already embraced cleaner technologies and they are helping to position our region as a leader in the clean economy. We have achieved so much in the short amount of time that we have been in office, but there is still so much work to be done. Building the Australia that we envisage cannot happen overnight. This requires hard decisions, long-term planning, dedication and significant investment in the regions driving our economic future.
