 Ready? Good evening and welcome to this special lecture. I'm professor Janet Nelson deputy vice chancellor and vice president for research and innovation at the University of Newcastle Whether you're here in the university's great hall or attending remotely online. It is my great pleasure to welcome you this evening Our event here at the Callenhan campus is being held on the traditional lands of the Pamble on clan of the wabakal people I will soon be joined on stage by mr. John Russell, but sorry Rob Russell to deliver a formal Acknowledgement of country, but at this time I too would like to convey my respects to the traditional owners of the land and the elders past and present I also extend a warm welcome to our guests of honor the Honorable Malcolm Turnbull Australia's 29th Prime Minister and Ms. Lucy Turnbull AO We were delighted to host mr. Mrs. Turnbull on campus this afternoon, and we really appreciate the time and interest in our institution. Thank you. I Also acknowledge our panelists and speakers this evening who I will introduce later as well as our entire audience I'd like to give a special thanks to Kate Frazier mayor Lake Macquarie counselor Christine Buckley deputy mayor Lake Macquarie Counselor Declan Klausen deputy mayor of City of Newcastle other leaders of our community University council members and all Executives staff alumni students and other guests. Thank you all for joining us We're gathered here tonight to hear from mr. Turnbull and our panelists on a topic of cutting energy admissions and energy Costs decarbonizing for our prosperous future this timely discussion for our nation and Particularly for our region as we consider our future energy and economic future I look forward to what will be a very thought-provoking and relevant lecture in a panel discussion But before we move to that tonight's events, I'd like to do a few housekeeping reminders This is actually the first public event We've hosted on campus since the pandemic took hold and we're delighted to offer this opportunity to our community You've seen that we've had to do a few things differently This is all part of our COVID planning to ensure that we can host you in a safe and socially distant manner So we really want to thank you all for your cooperation in this regard I need to point out that bathrooms are located outside the Great Hall in the lobby area in The event of an evacuation. You'll need to please proceed to your nearest exits and move away from the building University staff and ushers will escort you there If you did not complete a login code when or a login when you came in we asked you to do so before you leave to record your attendance We do ask that you remain seated for the entire event and refrain from mingling between tables This may seem a bit antisocial, but it is part of our social distancing protocol Our ushers and social distancing champions that you see in pink vests are here to help us on and keep us safe If for any reason you do need to leave in the middle of the event, please exit via door two in the back Following a little bit about the flow of tonight. I'd like to share with you the sequence of The great program we have lined up for you As I mentioned, we'll convince with an acknowledgement of country as an important way for us to recognize our Indigenous communities and our history. I'll then introduce Mr. Thunbol to deliver his remarks Following the lecture, I'll invite the panelists and moderator to join Mr. Thunbol on stage for deeper discussions You will see us making some changes to the stage at that point in the program You will have an opportunity to ask questions of our panel Unfortunately during due to COVID we cannot offer a roving microphone So you'll find a QR code on each of your tables or on your screen for those of you watching remotely That will take you to a Microsoft form We will gather these questions, try to group similar questions together, and then the forum will go live at the end of the lecture Following the panel discussion, Professor Alex Zelinski, AO, Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Newcastle Will offer a vote of thanks We'll then have our speakers depart the auditorium and that will mark the conclusion of the event We do ask that you remain seated once formalities have concluded We have to carefully manage the exit of people to make sure there's no crowding And we do thank you for your patience in these unusual times So to get underway, I'm pleased to introduce Mr. Rob Russell to the stage to deliver the acknowledgement of country Mr. Russell is the Chief Executive Officer of the Wabakal Aboriginal Land Council He's also the Chairperson of the Aboriginal Advisory Group for the Hunter Local Land Services We also proudly recognize Mr. Russell as an alumnus and a great champion for our institution And we are delighted that he could join us for this important event. Please welcome Rob Russell Thank you, everybody. Duman Nayin, Nara Kalu, Kiranan Bariyaadin We remember and respect the ancestors who cared for and nurtured this country As an Aboriginal man, I'm a Gomeroi descendant from around Bogobrai, Ganodah and Baraba From the Namai River country, which is my mother's country I'd like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the traditional owners of this land on which we meet today, the ancient Wabakal people Country is the essence of our laws, of our customs and of our life discipline I acknowledge the Wabakal people as the traditional custodians of this land and pay my respects to their elders past and present And I particularly pay my respects to the young Aboriginal people, the elders of the future and our emerging leaders Elders are the keepers of my knowledge and my law And it is through their resolve, dedication and commitment to maintaining this knowledge and law That I am able to be here today and to participate in this ceremony with you Today I'm off country, so I am following the protocol of acknowledging country Only an Aboriginal elder or representative of an elder may welcome you to country But anyone may acknowledge country. You do not need to be Aboriginal And I encourage you all to take part in this ceremony as it's a means of edifying and promoting Aboriginal culture wherever you go Both ceremonies are long standing greetings used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years to welcome travellers, to greet visitors crossing traditional boundaries, to introduce the tribal leaders and to make sure that visitors are aware of what becomes acceptable behaviour NAIDOC 2020 is always was, always will be We have been occupying and caring for this country for 65,000 years or more We've crisscrossed this continent in the footsteps of our ancestors, sharing knowledge, seeking marriage, pursuing trade and celebrating ceremony NAIDOC is this opportunity for all Australians to celebrate the rich diversity, history and achievements of Aboriginal people We are the oldest continuing culture on the planet and we have earned our place as the original inhabitants of this continent So think about what this continent was like before 1788 We already had our own sciences, we had navigation derived from astronomy and geography We had agriculture linked to meteorology, botany, chemistry We had engineering linked to physics, hydrology and fluid dynamics We had advanced conservation and land management skills, knowledge which is now being keenly sought Our country is part of us, our social and emotional wellbeing is directly linked to relationships with country, with extended family and to our kinship NAIDOC is a great opportunity to inspire others to recognise and acknowledge the strength and the importance of these connections Generating greater value and pride in our identity through a wider understanding of Aboriginal culture and ways of seeing the world and of acting accordingly Because we all want to belong. Thank you very much Thank you Rob for that wonderful acknowledgement and providing a great context for the discussions to come As we think about the importance of our Indigenous cultures and our history in this region I would like to take an opportunity to draw your attention to a new piece of art that is on display at the Great Hall to my left And I hope we're showing it on the screen at home too This piece was created by one of our Indigenous Visual Communication School students, Jasmine Kautchen Jasmine is a proud Barkingi Malagapa artist with a passion for telling the stories of diverse groups through her work In this piece, Jasmine tells the story of Aboriginal students at the university And our efforts to build both cultural knowledge and understanding across the institution through our education, research and community engagement It is a magnificent piece which we will proudly present for the first time to the public this evening So well done Jasmine And now it is my great privilege to introduce our keynote speaker and to share a few notes about his remarkable career and his contributions to this nation The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia Prior to entering politics, he enjoyed a successful career as a lawyer, an investment banker and a journalist He commenced his journalistic career by studying law at the University of Sydney and at Oxford University where he studied under Rhodes Scholarship It was during his time at Oxford that he married his wife Lucy Mrs. Turnbull AO is the former Lord Mayor of Sydney and former Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission We're delighted to have Mrs. Turnbull here today too Following his time at Oxford, Mr. Turnbull returned to Australia to practice law He quickly established a reputation as an effective advocate, most notably when he successfully defended former MI5 agent Peter Wright against the British government in the spy catcher trial Mr. Turnbull established an investment banking firm in 1987 where he specialized in the media and technology sectors He worked with media leaders of the time including Rupert Murdoch, Kerry Packer, Conrad Black and Bob Maxwell He co-founded the first big Australian internet company, Aussie Mail Limited, enlisting it on the Nasdaq in 1996 and selling it to WorldCom three years later He joined Goldman Sachs in 1997 becoming a partner of the firm the following year and led their Australian business for four years before moving into politics Mr. Turnbull entered the Australia Parliament in 2004 He has served as Minister of the Environment and Water Resources, Minister for Communications and as Prime Minister from 2015 to 2018 During his time as Prime Minister, Mr. Turnbull delivered economic growth and an innovative agenda that led to record job creation His government legalized same sex marriage, reformed school funding and embarked on the largest peacetime expansion and modernization of Australian defense forces including commissioning 54 new naval vessels He established a series of city deals where the three tiers of governments agree on common goals and work together to realize them And as part of the Western Sydney city deal, he convinced the construction of the new airport for Sydney Mr. Turnbull's great interest and deep interest in energy issues and renewable energy was evident during his time in office and continues today The construction of Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped hydro scheme started under his leadership He also identified opportunity for similar pump storage system in Tasmania Since leaving politics, Mr. Turnbull has returned to his business career and regularly speaks at global conferences We're really delighted to be able to share his insights today on this topic that is of great importance to the future of Australia, particularly our region Speaking on the cutting energy emissions and the cost energy costs, decarbonizing for our prosperous future Just a few reflections here in the Hunter, we do have tremendous energy capability Our region produces 63% of the state's electricity We have a large energy workforce with the sector employing 47,000 people indirectly And some of the very largest states energy users are located right here in the Hunter We have considerable energy assets, not to mention the port of Newcastle, access to gas, transmission and infrastructure This means issues around energy costs, new generation energy production and climate change Have significant bearing on our economy and the livelihood of our communities So we welcome this discussion and Mr. Turnbull's perspective on the challenges and the opportunities ahead And how we can secure ongoing prosperity of our regions It is my honor to present a guest of such esteem and distinction And please join me in welcoming the Honorable Malcolm Turnbull Well, good afternoon and thank you very much for that very generous introduction It's really a great honor and privilege for me and Lucy to be visiting the university today And I want to thank you so much for inviting us Vice Chancellor I want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Pumb along clan of the Awabakal people And I want to thank, especially Rob Russell And I'm just inspired by the energy, no pun intended, and the innovation that I've seen everywhere here today As you disclosed in my introduction, which was very generous, but it did disclose that I'm a lawyer Can't hide that, but I've always been, I guess, an amateur engineer To be honest, I've found water easier to understand than electrical engineering Hence the interest in hydropower, I suppose But every encounter I've had with Newcastle University over the years Just reinforces my understanding that the tradition of engineering and innovation Runs so deep in this community and this university It is really inspiring and I just want to compliment you on it It's wonderful to be speaking to you in person Wow, this is the first time I've given an address face to face Rather than over Zoom since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic earlier in the year Now, this pandemic has inflicted enormous suffering around the world, as we know Well, well over a million people debt killed About 20% of them in the United States alone, of course But it is a huge economic disruption and damage But it is also brought home to governments around the world That challenges and problems of this scale and magnitude Require united, swift and decisive action And nowhere is this more evident than in our ongoing fight against global warming Only months ago more than 200 fires burned over 18 million hectares of our country The air in our capital cities was the worst quality in the world At least 34 Australians were killed, thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed And more than a billion mammals, birds and reptiles were estimated to have been incinerated With several species feared to have been wiped out altogether Hundreds of Australians were huddling on beaches in skies black with smoke In the middle of the day, dark in the middle of the day with that massive smoke coverage Waiting to be evacuated by the Navy The savage consequences of global warming were upon us Now more than ever before, our priority must be to accelerate the transformation to renewables So that we generate all of our electricity from zero emission sources It's not the only measure, but a key measure in the battle against global warming Is to deliver our energy, our electricity from zero emission sources Which we can do and can do at the same time as having cheaper electricity And equally reliable electricity, and then that coupled with an electrification of industry and society generally Takes you not all the way, but a very long way to achieving the target that we must have Is just to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible Now I believe that there is nowhere in Australia a greater opportunity to lead that charge than here in the Hunter Australia's leading regional economy Now coal has been synonymous with the Hunter Valley for 200 years Welsh miners named many of the local towns, like Swansea and Aberdeir and so many others as you know In the solidarity of the miners' chapel was the foundation of the Australian labour movement My father Bruce grew up in Sesnoch, and his first job was as an electrician in the mines His high school magazine then and now is called the Black Diamond Each year the Hunter region produces most of the 160 million tonnes of coal Which is exported from ships here in Newcastle to markets in Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and other places The plentiful coal and the energy it produced has also attracted manufacturing and energy intensive industry to the region, aluminium It brought steel making to Newcastle too, now part of the city's history When I was a boy, my grandparents, by then living at Wongi Wongi, across the road from Bill De Bell, I might add Who, who we believe touched up one or two of Nana Turnbull's paintings which appear to have a slightly higher quality than the others That's another story But Fred and Top, my grandparents, would admiringly point out the young men who had won the greatest accolade, a cadetship at BHP So BHP was Newcastle, steel was Newcastle, still have the Steelers Now BHP has left, but coal mining remains The city prospered without BHP It prospered in large part because it has become a knowledge economy and the university again is a huge part of that as indeed has been the CSIRO Coal mining provides over 15,000 jobs for those directly in the industry and many thousands more indirectly But there's a lot more to the hunter than coal mining Wine making and tourism have prospered, incongruously perhaps alongside vast open cut moonscapes left by the coal miners Further up the valley where Lucy and I have grown cattle and sheep for over 40 years There is the largest thoroughbred breeding centre in the world outside of Kentucky Scone's veterinary clinic is the largest in the southern hemisphere, needless to say it's not all small animals Not only that, it has provided coal mining for the livelihoods of thousands of people Thousands of people, so it's been a huge part of the life of this community Now we live in remarkable times, they're defined by economic and social change unprecedented in both their scale and pace In other words, we've never seen so much change so quickly in all of human history And so disruption is the new normal And in that environment you have to make volatility your friend If you don't, it will become your foe You can't change the environment, we cannot change the tenor of the times So we've got to be smart enough and agile enough to make these changing times our friend to take advantage of them And that's why I've always been passionately committed to innovation which is the great driver of productivity So as Prime Minister, my first new economic initiative was to launch the National Innovation and Science Agenda in November 2015 Now this sentiment, this passion for innovation is one that is shared by you here at the University of Newcastle On our tour today, and thank you again Vice-Chancellor, we're able to meet with your researchers, professors and students who are all at the cutting edge of the technologies vital to securing our future Renewable energy and its storage, green hydrogen and so much more We're also delighted to discuss with some of the faculty the efforts made to bring more women into STEM Again, one of the key agenda items in the National Innovation and Science Agenda I just want to applaud you for the work of Hunter Wise, which is your initiative in this region Now this same spirit of innovation was present at the Melt Manufacturing Incubator I visited here last year with the Mayor of Lake Macquarie, that's where we last met So there's a great tradition here, innovation, engineering, technical excellence Now throughout history though, we've always heard voices seeking to oppose innovation Those that are anxious and frightened of the new who prefer to hide under the doona in the face of change You cannot hide, change is coming whether we are prepared for it or not Now the transition from coal will happen, that is a given The environmental necessity to stop burning fossil fuels is so apparent And at the same time we know that renewables, variable renewable energy, solar or wind Plus storage is the cheapest form of electricity, I'll come back to some numbers on that in a minute So this is going to happen, that transition from coal will happen, it's a certainty But what won't happen unless we make it happen is the Hunter transforming itself into a clean energy powerhouse With all of the jobs and opportunities that entails Now leaders should focus on people and communities and defend them The long-term interests of the men and women who work in the coal industry, let alone their children, is not in coal It's in having good well-paid jobs in safe communities with clean air and water on a planet that has stopped the relentless self-destruction that is global warming Now there are plenty of voices in politics and in the media, particularly that part owned by Rupert Murdoch Who will dismiss global warming as a hoax, claiming that by doing so they're defending jobs in the coal industry today Some of them may be sincere, but believe me they are all misguided Coal is on the way out, what we need is to recognise that change is coming and make sure the Hunter has more and better jobs in the future Those who deny change in defence of today's jobs are denying all of us and our children the jobs of the future Now when I was the environment minister in 2007 in John Howard's government, that was that dangerous radical prime minister whose policy included an emissions trading scheme You may remember that old lefty Renewables were vastly more expensive than conventional forms of generation And the argument in favour of subsidising them was not really to reduce emissions but to provide the economic pull through Or in other words help facilitate more demand for the relevant renewable technologies, more R&D, more learning through doing and economies of scale Now whether this was the cause or it was coincidental, the reality is the relative cost of new generation has shifted as I said in favour of renewables and storage The cost of solar, photovoltaics is declining every year, 13% last year alone on a dollars or now cents per watt basis And over 90% over the last 8 years, that's a dramatic change And we'll continue to see standard solar panels increase in energy efficiency by another 50% in the years to come Now batteries are seeing similar increases in efficiency and affordability AEMO, that's the Australian energy market operators, latest estimates show that by 2030, new solar backed with 6 hours of pumped hydro Has been $40 a megawatt hour cheaper than new black coal even without a carbon price So the key element however, and this is I think a very important point Is not what the long term cost of electricity is, the LCOE for renewables Because that's really a bankers measure, it's important if you're raising the finance But the fact is that they are zero marginal cost generators Meaning the additional cost of generating an extra megawatt hour is zero because they have no fuel cost Now what this obviously means is that and we're seeing this already today You'll see this with the solar panels on your home if you have them I think over 2.5 million Australian households do already There are times of day when electricity supply is well in excess of demand and times when the reverse is true Hence the need for storage and that's why I'm so pleased to see so much work being done here on that subject Now with every new solar panel installed whether on a home or on a vast solar farm The viability of continuous coal fired generation is undermined Now when I was PM I used to say to my colleagues we don't want to be the coal party Or even the solar panel party but rather the cheap reliable and clean energy party Guided by engineering and economics not ideology and idiocy And the economics is so very clearly on the side of renewables not coal I mean consider this for the first time on record the world's combined coal power capacity has fallen As more coal plants are being shut down faster than new ones being opened Japan for example one of our big customers for coal has committed to closing more than 100 plants by 2030 Japanese companies including Osaka gas Take Your Gas Kyushu Electric and Itomitsu have also abandoned plans to build coal plants Meaning up to 30% of planned investment in coal power in Japan has been scrapped since 2016 With a focus instead on offshore wind power and renewable energy programs All of the major customers for our export coal have committed to net zero emissions by 2050 Or earlier it is remarkable that our government led by my successor Mr Morrison is so reluctant to make a similar commitment The world must and I believe will stop burning coal if we're to avoid the worst consequences of global warming And the sooner the better Now the way forward the hunter can and should become a green energy hub Let me paint the big picture You have a skilled workforce with deep expertise and energy and engineering That is the hunter's best resource In fact it's Australia's best resource So often used to say as PM our best resource is walking around on top of the earth Not the minerals and other matter you know hydrocarbons beneath it However the transmission infrastructure into the hunter is of enormous value And shouldn't be wasted as coal fired generation shuts down Thousands of hectares of unrehabilitated or barely rehabilitated land scarred by mining Could be covered with solar panels There's plenty of potential for local pumped hydro AGL has been working on a proposal near Musclebrook and of course you have in Glenbourne Dam A reservoir with a capacity one and a half times the size of Sydney Harbour And plenty of surrounding landscape to enable the construction of a second higher or lower reservoir with a substantial difference in elevation But just a word of warning on pumped hydro It is currently at least the most cost effective way to store large amounts of electricity For periods in excess of eight hours or more And this is an important point I might say There is batteries are being deployed rapidly and they're providing very valuable firming Sometimes almost at a tactical level and of course providing all of those services of frequency control ancillary services that are needed As our network moves to one where the electricity is provided by variable renewables Inverter based generators as opposed to the big spinning machines of the turbine, steam turbines Which of course have so much inertia that they're able to maintain frequency more readily So all of that the batteries are going to play a bigger and bigger part But there is going to be a need to ensure that we have sufficient long term storage Sometimes it's called seasonal storage in the literature Now you know snowy 2.0 is like a standout example of that It will when it's built be able to generate 2,000 megawatts for I think seven and a half days 175 hours without re pumping but they're not too many sites like that in Australia We are a big flat dry continent but it's a very important point to bear in mind But here is the key warning on pumped hydro We have got to get on and build it Now you can roll out solar panels and wind farms in months Pumped hydro takes years because of the civil works and environmental approvals Moore's law does not apply to digging holes Really important point, it has applications in the water industry Kevin Also has applications in telecommunications so you could go on about that for a long time Now there's been a lot of outstanding work done Especially by on mapping the opportunities for off river pumped hydro Especially by Andy Blakers at the ANU and he's identified many sites in this area in the Hunter But I am really concerned that the only substantial pumped hydro project which is actually being built today in Australia is snowy 2.0 The project that I got started when I was PM Now that was I may say so an example of government not just thinking ahead but getting on with the job So we need to do more so I welcome some of the recent announcements made by the New South Wales Government They certainly recognise the need for more storage but we've got to get on and build it You know there's always excuses not to do it and obstacles and so forth But you've got to get in and build it because the variable generation can be built as I said in months But the storage that you need to make it reliable takes years So there is no time to waste Now with plentiful clean energy the Hunter could for example return the steel making using green steel Making green steel with green hydrogen instead of coal And I know there is work being done here at the university and we visited some of the labs working on green hydrogen All of that legacy infrastructure transmission port rail brownfield land makes for the perfect environment for a new clean energy economy The energy renaissance lithium-ion battery factory chose the Hunter exactly for that reason And your own laboratories here are developing even more efficient batteries MGA thermal is another product of this university storing energy as thermal heat So amongst all of you here at the university you're working on the solutions But it's got to be brought together It needs a plan, it needs leadership and it needs advocacy Beyond zero emissions, the group I'm sure you're all familiar with Has a large and committed group of volunteers for the most part have already worked thousands of hours on a plan to diversify the Hunter economy Only today a new collaboration of unions and environmental groups, the Hunter Jobs Alliance has been formed to advocate and plan for this transition With determined leadership the Hunter can emerge from this energy transition stronger than ever But it has to be planned Engineering and economics that is Newcastle's forte, that is the Hunter's forte rather than the ideology and idiocy that has characterised too much of the political debate So let's pause for a moment and imagine what the Hunter might look like in the future One by design that we choose to create for ourselves Transmission corridors that once took coal-fired power now carry clean energy Solar wind, pumped hydro storage, utility scale batteries and green hydrogen underpin industry Making up a reliable energy system The children in Musclebrook and Singleton will not have to breathe in coal, dust and sulphur dioxide from the mines and power stations Their parents will have jobs in industries that thrive with cheap green power As I said earlier we're living through one of the most extraordinary periods in human history The pace and scale of change is faster than ever, that is the nature of our times There's nothing any of us can do to change that That's the environment we live in, that's what we're presented with And we've got to decide whether we want to make that volatility our friend Whether we want to leverage it to succeed or whether we want to let it wash over us And we'll be left behind So this is not the time to be faint-hearted or timid with our ambition to rapidly transition to zero emissions It's an opportunity for people like yourselves, like ourselves, all of us to be at the forefront of this change Innovation and new technologies are the means to do it And you have them here at the University of Newcastle And so I encourage all of you today to play your part as we move together into this zero emissions Prosperous future, the one that we need to preserve our planet Preserve it for our children and our grandchildren and the generations to come Thank you very much Thank you Mr. Turnbull for a wonderful lecture and a really compelling take on our future and our nation I'm very deeply moved There's much more to discuss and I'm sure our audience will have questions So I do remind you about the QR code at your table or on the screen for those of you at home To help dive into these ideas, it is my pleasure to welcome the panel for the next session I invite our speakers to join the stage with Mr. Turnbull as I introduce them to you Moderating today's panel is Ms. Alice Thompson, Chief Executive Officer for the Committee of the Hunter Alice is a leader in public policy with a focus on industry, development, urban planning and regional development Her career spans the public and private sectors including as the national lead on cities and regions with KPMG She also worked as a senior advisor for Mr. Turnbull on cities and infrastructure So I imagine the exchange of ideas will be familiar Joining Mr. Turnbull on the panel we also welcome Professor Alan Broadfoot The Executive Director of the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources Alan is also the Director of the New South Wales Energy and Resources Knowledge Hub And is a respected leader and facilitator of partnerships and collaborations across the energy industry We welcome Ms. Sorrell Osborne Sorrell is the Operations and Commercial Director for Diffuse Energy A wind technology company that emerged through the research of its founders here at the University Sorrell has held executive roles with Conversant Media with Marketing Technology Startup Audience Republic And our final panelist is Dr. Nicholas Jareef A new Alliance Postdoctoral Associate with the Priority Research Center for the Frontier Technologies and Utilization here at the University Nicholas' research is focused on the utility scale energy storage including hydrogen and batteries He is a Director of the Australian Institute of Energy and has served as an engineer officer in the Royal Australian Navy We have a great lineup of experts to talk more on the themes we have heard from Mr. Turnbull And now I hand over to Alice to facilitate the discussion from here And remind you that following the panel discussion, Professor Alex Zelinski, Vice Chancellor and President will provide a short vote of thanks So over to you Alice Thank you very much, Janet So one of the things that I really loved working with you and your style of government and prime ministerial leadership was your optimism and positivity And really raising the ambition and I think your speech was really perfect for where we're at in the Hunter And what we need to hear despite all of the challenges that we've got To start with, I totally agree with you I think that the Hunter can lead, can be in clean energy powerhouse And one can actually lead Australia's transition in energy and economy, the decarbonisation of that economy Alan, I'm just wondering if you could talk us through in a little bit more detail what you consider some of the Hunter's energy capabilities and advantages Well historically, I mean, this is about my 45th year of being in business I can remember the power station down at Cockle Creek I can remember the state dockyards I can remember the thousand apprentices being put on a BHP going through their gate every year But what I saw, I always believed the Hunter, since I can remember it, has been in transition And what we do is every time there's a transition we build another level of capability When we went through the big industrial change of putting in storage and dams in the 60s We built a university to have that transformational chain We've built up a world-class TAFE Institute that runs all the way to the border now So what I said is, you can give the conventional answer of we've got the grid structure We've got the energy intensity industries here But we've got more than that, it's what Malcolm said is that we've got the skill base We've got the innovation We have a capacity to be not just simply the next powerhouse, a generation I think the big challenge for us as a nation is how we use energy At some point we've got to get back to the word sustainability And we can be an engine room of change because it is in our make-up It is the fact that we have got these large skill workforces And we have a large capital investment in infrastructure And saying that, we do have everything else The port, the connections for the grid We have the capacity to take on new generation But I think we look beyond that Yeah, I completely agree And I think what makes the Hunter different to other places Is that we have all those capabilities and assets in the one place at the same time And at significant scale So I think that we certainly can lead the charge on the clean energy economy Which will of course require public and private sector investment Cerell, do we offer a decent value proposition for energy investment And how does it compare here to other places in Australia? I think it's a fabulous question I think ultimately, decent is underselling I think we are a lot more than just decent on how we support start-ups And certainly energy start-ups in this region I grew up in Mainland I'm a proud Hunter person And I spent a lot of time working in Sydney with start-ups There before now coming back to work for diffuse energy And what it's shown me, this move back to the Hunter region to work in start-up Is that both with the University of Newcastle And any number of other local policy makers and supporters Is that we are doing a fabulous job, in my opinion Of really giving these businesses an opportunity to Firstly tap into government grants, government funding And go on those sorts of important commercialization pathways Taking great research and commercializing that Which of course is incredibly important to the growth of this sector in this region But also allowing for, fundamentally for us to showcase That in the Hunter renewal was a good business And that is incredibly important as well When we are then, and there's any number of energy start-ups From the University of Newcastle and from the Hunter region Who are going to venture capitalists And are going to private equity firms And who are able to secure really really strong levels of seed Series A pre-seed funding Because we do come from such a strong background Of energy foundation coming from the Hunter So I think it's a fantastic stepping stone And it's giving us the opportunity to come from A very very strong energy background As we progress into a very very strong Renewables energy background for the region Nicholas I'm wondering if you could tell us about Some of the really exciting energy projects That are happening right now here in the region Yeah, Mr. Turnbull mentioned one The Musclebrook pumped hydro that's being explored by AGL There's another thing that AGL is talking about A big 500 megawatt battery at the Liddell site Which is pretty exciting for a battery nerd like myself Then there's tremendous opportunities for doing other stuff With energy in this region And one of those is hydrogen Which is what I'm looking at now And colleagues in my group, the Priority Research Center Led by Professor Bedad Motaderi They're building this virtual gas well system With the APA group and Southern Green Gas Where you take energy from the sun using solar To extract water out of the air And also extract carbon dioxide out of the air And then you split the water also using solar power And get hydrogen out And you combine that with the carbon dioxide And you get green methane Which you can put into the gas network And create this virtual sustainable green gas well Anywhere that the sun shines Fantastic Malcolm, so as we're leading the charge The Hunter to become Australia's clean energy powerhouse It needs to have a plan You said that in your speech And clearly a plan that's going to cross sectors Cross levels of government Cross LGA boundaries And cross portfolios within any level of government Would a city deal style approach benefit the Hunter? Yeah, it would Alice, you and I worked together On the city deal Schemes, plans And I must say inspired by My wife Lucy I just want to acknowledge Lucy's understanding Of local government Which is extensive My only achievement Is the lady mares of Sydney So I did I listened carefully And the city deals Were actually a really good reform Of our time in government Because What it did was kind of obvious Which was to take an area A city, western Sydney Or Lonseston Or Newcastle Newcastle And perhaps the Hunter Should have Should have one But the idea is to get Federal government, state government Local government, major stakeholders Like universities All around the table And actually agree on what they want to achieve Shock horror Work governments working together And so instead of having Various levels of government All with the best of intentions Going off and Rather like passing each other And actually work out what you want to do And you say right this is what we want to achieve And you know you pay this We'll pay that They're going to pay something else And you divvy it up And the western Sydney city deal Is a really good example of that You know it's got You know an aerotropolis An airport New mass transit You know and a whole lot of other Amenity and infrastructure Associated with that Plan that Loose was so Involved with his chief commissioner But I do see I think Newcastle And the Hunter needs a plan I mean look Here's the thing You know you can drown in the detail In the mine you see And if you want to I mean that's not unimportant But you've got to be able to see the big picture And the big picture is That there is An energy transition going on And clearly if you're Heavily invested in the That part of the trans That part of the energy space Which is going out You want to make sure That you're part of the New energy technology That is coming in And it can all be done But it does need a plan It does need coordination So yeah It could and should play A leading role in that I really do Thank you You have said previously That the only thing holding back Our clean energy future Australia's clean energy future Is politics However businesses and shareholders Are talking with their own feats And wallets They're adopting environmental Performance standards in their own Operations in the products Is there a role of government In this new world of direct action That isn't necessarily waiting For policy certainty Or that bipartisan agreement On decarbonisation Well look I think the political impasse Is really a function Of the toxic politics Inside the coalition I'm no longer in politics So I can just be completely blunt With it And speak very plainly I mean essentially Global warming and climate change Has become an identity Or values issue Here in the right of politics And also in the United States Obviously they're having an election Today, tomorrow To hopefully resolve that But it's crackers I mean saying I believe In global warming Or I don't believe in global warming Is like saying I believe It's ludicrous It's absolutely ludicrous Barking mad But boy it's real Just because something is crazy Doesn't mean it's real by the way So that's the problem And so I think Essentially now Effective leadership on Energy and the transition Has gone Is being held by the states Because the commonwealth Cannot Obviously doesn't want to Ignite the right to move on him The way they moved on me And he wants to stay sweet With the Murdoch press And all of that stuff There's a whole cosy sort of Ecosystem going on there You're just not going to get Coherent energy policy out of The federal government anytime soon It may change If there's a change of administration In Washington And a big shift there Everything I see On the energy front Indicates a very practical Pragmatic rational approach And I think Matt Keane The minister is He seems to speak A remarkable amount of good sense On energy And so I'm really Delighted to see that As does the premier But nonetheless You have to get on And look I just get back to this fact About pumped hydro So we all agree the pumped hydro Is going to be a big part of the future I don't think anyone in the energy sector Disagrees with that But why is it that there's only One major pumped hydro project Being constructed Snowy 2.0 And the reason is Because there's always people Who are naysayers with problems And obstacles and vested interests But that's the reality There's no other explanation for it It wouldn't even have been Thought of as a project Had I not just pushed it And pushed it in the way I did But that type of pushing And determination needs To be seen elsewhere Otherwise we will get to the position Where we end up without The storage and the firming that we need So This is a big This is not just in Australia By the way This issue with storage and pumped hydro Is an issue and quite a few other Jurisdictions as well Thank you Now Sorrell Still on this question Of what is the role of government here You're part of the Hunter's Very rich start-up And SME ecosystem here What is it that you're looking From government What would give you the confidence To invest, expand and create new As mentioned a couple of times It is absolutely inevitable That this is not just going to happen But is happening Industry leaders across any number Of sectors are demanding Energy experts but people are demanding That their customers, their suppliers Their consumers are thinking about How they are approaching a zero Carbon strategy And getting to that position So fundamentally we are doing it And we are doing it off the back Of a lot of private investment And what we're after with government Is simply help us craft a framework That allows us to continue what we're doing Hopefully expedites it And then stop being a blocker Basically I just think If the market pull is telling you This is inevitable and this is happening And any number of start-ups and SMEs Are developing off their own backs Because of potential government policy That is blocking this But we're still able to get it done And we're still able to take on investment And grow and scale these businesses The writing's on the wall So what are you going to do about Making sure that it just continues To be a pathway for us That's really all we ask We don't need subsidies As we pointed out it is a very cheap way To fuel our nation Using renewables, using all these New technologies but we just need Their sign off, their support In a simpler way as that So some of the government's Investment vehicles like the CFC Are especially important In supporting innovations And the commercialisation of that Nicholas did you want to tell us A little bit about why you think They're really important in the work That you do and the career That you see for yourself going forward? Institutions in general are critically important To democracies and modern economies And so that's no exception In the energy space The Australian Research Council Sponsors or funds Fundamental research like we do At universities then The Australian Renewable Energy Agency funds the next level In partnership with Industry And businesses like Sorrels And that project I mentioned before With the APA Group and Southern Green Gas And then the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Funds the next stage Of commercialisation taking it to scale So together We're going to fund the whole pipeline From the Fundamental Research here At universities Then the next stage in partnership with industry And then the full kick of it I think it's incredibly important That we've retained them as institutions As we face this challenge Now to get the benefits of being a first mover You actually have to be out on front So Alan Can you tell us Is the hunter and the university On the cutting edge of energy And resources research That's being done in partnership With industry And the institutions So that's a two part answer I mean one is recognising the skill sets And the capabilities of the Academic staff Of the University of Newcastle And it's one thing I enjoy every day Is actually seeing the new discoveries And Malcolm is fortunate enough To see that here today It's more than that You can't on your own Create a solution to a global problem And research around the world Been put into these areas And that's what a university is Having a local university in the city You create a gateway To that cutting edge research And what I get excited on Is that innovation is taking the invention The invention is happening around the world And making it Originally relevant But also translating into an application That will have real benefit to the community And that's the thing that I recognise With the academics here In Newcastle They're rapid in their ability To adapt that technology And deploy it into the industry sector In terms of some of the collaboration We have We're doing research on mobility In terms of application of hydrogen In terms of transport I'm looking forward to Maybe a successful announcement Later this week about that We've got four groups looking At battery storage Not only just about lithium and Battery materials and carbon In aluminium We're looking at carbon New carbon structures For CO2 capture Which is something we shouldn't forget about It's not just limited to power stations It's all about combustion Across the individual sectors There's our plastic solar cells It's about Getting an affordability and adaption That can be addressed The issues that we have Especially in remote communities I still Believe in that We are a regional university But we're research for regions We may not have a solution for Sydney But we certainly have A solution for the majority of Australia And how do we integrate And I still think the wicked problem Is advanced energy integration I remember as a boy engineer I was doing a lot of work in automation They brought this new device out And said how could you apply that to this It was a call to the computer To apply But They invented the internet after that So remember, we've discovered We're only looking at a lens of where we're at And we have to be on that forefront And adapt it quickly We need to be seen as a region of first adopters I think that's what the focus should be With our industry partners Thank you Now we have over 300 people Who have logged in and have been watching this live streamed And we have some questions there I'm going to be using WhatsApp Which I wasn't on before Until I was in the office of the Prime Minister And we had the tech savvy Gen Y in the office Which was the Prime Minister Basically got us all on to the latest little whiz bangs And I think it is going to work We have a question from Grant Sefton Of Hunter Angels How important is finance to facilitate Change in alternative energy innovation And should the Hunter Have its own innovation investment fund I think that's a really I was actually just thinking Just then That Hunter probably should have Its own innovation investment fund So I think tentatively I would say yes I think there could be quite Some value in that And because To be able to provide You know seed capital And maybe some You know early stage capital That's Because it helps to have people On the ground In the community Particularly when you're funding Businesses from the very start up Who actually know the players That helps Because ultimately You're backing people Above all else I think that's a high quality idea Sorrell what difference would it make to you Noting that You've certainly benefited your start up Through the uni's integrated innovation Network Yeah look I think certainly It would be all there for that opportunity As we have touched upon So much about Really really early stage investment Is finding great founders And knowing them and their interaction And their commitment to local communities Like our own So there's often A very small amount of revenue Or no revenue Or a bit of a great idea That we're still developing So having that connection with investment Is really important I mean grant funding of course Is always incredibly important to To start ups But what I've always loved about You know the CFC arena Various other independent government agencies Is that they look at investment From a good economic standpoint To stack up against more traditional investments And that's incredibly important to how Start ups both in this region And more broadly are invested into So having someone on the ground But that is also using really savvy Business analysis Unique economic modeling All that sort of thing For those investments Is only going to make sure that this region Has more and more successful start ups That scale up and contribute to our economy Governments have problems With funds like this If they are investment funds Because they're worried about losing money And getting beaten up in the media For losing money So governments often prefer to do grants Like arena does So the money's lost from the minute You write the check So CFC has to get a return And actually has been a very, very successful investment bank That's right Funding it through other investments As governments have done with artesian And various others You can do a similar kind of style to that Exactly, you can provide incentives And we started the CSIRO fund That main sequence ventures now Now manages Look, the start up economy Is of enormous benefit I mean practically nobody loses out of it By the way Because if you have a start up The investors may often lose some money But they'll learn something out from it But they'll lose a bit of money The founder and the people who work in the start up Will learn a huge amount And even if it doesn't work Go on to do something even better And it just builds an ecosystem I mean it is really one of the most positive things You can have a start up ecosystem So I used to get rubbish in the media When I was in politics For being so focused on this But it was not just romantic Romanticizing Brilliant young Not always young Generally brilliant young Scientists and technologists and engineers There is an element of romance to it But I promise you It is from a hard headed economic point of view It's hugely additive And very beneficial To the city or community In which it's going on I think in a power space It's also exactly where people will innovate And be forced to look at things differently So when we are looking at a green energy future It is the start up That will scale with that investment That will come at it from a different angle Which is exactly what we need So why not be the region that's promoting Those sorts of approaches Absolutely So we have time for one more question And we'll get a response From a couple of people on the panel on this one So the Hunter, it's a region With such a deep relationship With coal mining over generations In fact, Nick, you've been part of that And have chosen a different pathway How do we encourage and persuade others To support a future powered by renewable energy Nick, if you could give your response And then we'll finish And I'll come and appreciate your insights On this question Yeah, well my grandfather Was a mechanical engineer as well He designed high pressure steam systems For coal-fired power stations And I've sort of inherited his love of energy And machines And taken my own pathway through university Universities are really forward looking Fundamentally And they're preparing the workforce People and communities for the future As well as the present So I followed in my grandfather's footsteps And did mechanical engineering On, I did my PhD On Australian flow battery technology And now I'm here at University of Newcastle Working on hydrogen And that's really focused on delivering For looking at opportunities For community and industry In this region In Australia and the world To deliver value So as you're saying People really are our most important resources We face and conquer this challenge And thrive How do we encourage and persuade others To support this future Whose families might be impacted? Yeah, well I mean they're going to be impacted You know the You know that you may not be interested In the energy transition But it's interested in you To paraphrase somebody else But the The fact is it's happening As I think we all recognise It's very clear So the question is Are you going to just You know go down with the coal Ship as it were Or are you going to be Looking at the successor technologies And get in ahead on that Or are you just going to You know in effect be left behind And I mean look There's no The problem that we have Is the way This issue Has been turned into a values Or identity issue And I mean even intelligent people do this I mean I don't know if you saw Insiders on Sunday But David Spears Who's not a dope or anything like that David Spears said to Terry Butler Who's the Labor Environment Spokes Person He said do you Are you in favour of more gas Or less gas I want to The answer should be I want to see us move to zero emissions As soon as we can And at the same time have Affordable and reliable energy As we move through that And whether at different times We use more or less gas You know we'll We could use more gas for a period Than we do now And then at the end of it You want to use less But it is you know Is coal Or being pro coal or anti coal Or saying coal's bad Coal has no moral qualities at all It's a thing It has certain characteristics Physical characteristics And what we've got the opportunity To do Is to have cheaper electricity Which is also clean Now How can you possibly knock that back So the question is How do we get there Are we heading The next question is Do we want to be going there too Because and if the answer to that Is not yes Then you're basically saying I want to be left behind And nobody wants that So I reckon this is a You know I think this is a We've got to take the politics And the values and the identity Politics and rubbish ideology out of it Focus on the facts and the physics That are enormous For the hunter Thank you That's brought us to the end Of our panel session The Vice-Chancellor is going to close the event today Well thank you Good afternoon As Vice-Chancellor It's my pleasure to provide some final remarks And offer a word of thanks to The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull And to our panellists It's really been I've got to say To the public I feel so good to be back amongst people like this And it's the first event We've really done like this all year So it's been a long time And somehow we've blended it with the online So there's another 300 people out there Listening and contributing But somehow it feels different To do it face to face I'm really a great way to bring us back together Malcolm So thank you for that So when we host these lectures We want to bring the community together To debate challenging ideas And we were challenged tonight About the very future of this region Based on the history of where we've come from So we also aim to talk about What's possible for the future And more importantly how can we get there And I think today's event certainly delivered that Our region and nation will need to make changes To embrace a low carbon future And it's clear from the discussions There's both an environmental And economic imperative to act The Hunter region has been sustained By the environmental energy sources We have the industrial capacity And workforce to pivot and play a major role In the new energy economy I'm very proud that our university Is working closely with our region To play a part in this future Through our research, industry Engagement initiatives like the Hunter Hodge and Taskforce We are building capacity for change It was a real privilege to hear From the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull On this importance of this issue To our region Leaders we appreciated your insights As always it was plain speaking Times very blunt but very clear What we need to do Climate change is a reality Coal is in transition And for us to be a clean energy powerhouse We must embrace the future And I think when you think about Legacies of the Prime Minister I think you couldn't think of something Better than Snowy 2.0 That will be there I think for centuries to come So it's something I think you can look back on And I think it was your leadership That was a lot of opposition to it I remember reading all the various articles About why it wasn't the right project And will it have the payback etc But it's very clear we really need it So thank you for what you've done there So here in the Hunter We share your optimism for the future We agree that this is an opportunity ahead Take the right steps now And thank you for those insightful remarks So Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull It's been an honour to host you On our campus today At the University and the Newcastle Community I extend a sincere thank you For making the journey to the University And to Newcastle And thank you for your interest In our University and our region I know you have a local farm And not far up there in the Upper Hunter But then you visit regularly So we hope that you can come again Because we're very grateful The generosity that you gave us With this visit Certainly very much personally enjoyed The interactions With the community tonight Because certainly the committee of the Hunter And I know the University Would very much like to start to build the momentum On what was discussed tonight So to the panellists So thank you firstly Alice For your terrific moderation That was great and facilitating And engaging conversation Your knowledge of the region And policy landscapes Really shaped the discussion well So thank you I'd also like to thank The Hunter and the University Were well made Cerell I think start-ups Are a vibrant part of the Hunter And certainly we need them in the energy space And I think diffuse energy Is a spin-off of our University We're very proud of what you guys are doing And keep up the great work And Nicholas thank you To talk about innovation And the big picture areas Of where we can go With these new alternatives To carbon energy So we appreciate your views And I think certainly there's a lot to consider tonight So there's been a lot of people Working behind the scenes At the University to organise this event And today's program So thanks very much to our corporate events team You're brilliant And thank you to our colleagues At Wallatooka The Newcastle Institute of Energy and Resources Hunter wise and MGA thermal For sharing your time with us today And talking about your work I also acknowledge our infrastructure team They've kept everything moving along nicely The health response units Our ushers, our social distancing champions And colleagues from the University Have supported today's event So thank you very much It's a great turnout So thank you for your contributions So tonight we really saw the brilliance Of Malcolm Turnbull in full display So I really always enjoy listening to him I've got to say I do commend you His aptly titled autobiography A bigger picture You can see the lawyer The business person The politician And all those stories told In the same straight forward Unvarnished way But what I think I really enjoyed about that What a biography was The partnership he has with his wife Lucy It really is something truly remarkable A true partnership Very inspiring So thank you for that Malcolm So I want to finally finish off To say that those who are online Thank you for joining us As a university of the region For the region that we value your participation In these events And thank you for taking the time On Melbourne Cup Day Of all days But we hope you enjoyed the lecture And the opportunity to hear from Malcolm Turnbull And you've all contributed to the success Of this event I'm really pleased we had a COVID safe model To run our graduations In the same way going forward So once again Please join me in a final round of applause To Malcolm Turnbull and our speakers And I'll hand back to Janet To close the event Thank you