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National Party leader David Littleproud has made a rare visit to Wollongong in the immediate aftermath of the government's declaration of an offshore wind zone around 20 kilometres off the Illawarra coast.
In a region dominated by Labor politicians, Mr Littleproud spent the day meeting with fishing and anti-wind farm groups opposed to plans for up to 200 floating turbines offshore between Wombarra and Kiama.
Mr Littleproud said the Coalition was committed to overturning the two offshore wind zones now declared for the Illawarra and Port Stephens in the NSW Hunter.
His main message is the government is moving too fast to adopt risky renewables that could push up power prices, when base load power is needed for homes and major manufacturing operations like the Port Kembla Steelworks.
"We should have a slow transition from some of our coal-fired power stations to nuclear power plants that are zero emissions and firm that up with gas and carbon capture storage, which is zero emissions as well," Mr Littleproud told ABC Illawarra Breakfast.
"We can achieve this but we have to be honest and we have to make sure that we don't cause pain to Australian households in their energy bills, which is what has happened at the moment."
The last time the Nationals ran a federal candidate in the region was in 2019 when Katrina Hodgkinson contested the south coast seat of Gilmore.
It was more than a decade ago that they ran a candidate in Whitlam, backing Rose Tattoo frontman Gary "Angry" Anderson in 2013.
But this could change with a proposed boundary redistribution moving traditional conservative voting areas in the Liberal-held seat of Hume, into Whitlam.
"The National Party has made very clear after the redistribution that we've opened up all nominations in seats," Mr Littleproud said.
"Whether we run will depend on the candidate we get; we want to get a local champion in Whitlam."
Transition to green steel
Australia's largest steelmaker, BlueScope Steel, has supported a local offshore wind industry as it plots a path to green steel production.
Speaking alongside Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen at the weekend, BlueScope's general manager of manufacturing, Dave Scott, said offshore wind was an important part of its future energy mix.
"The transition to green energy and steelmaking is complex, relying on changes in technology and critical enablers that will need to be established," he said.
"We know that we'll need large amounts of renewable energy to meet our greenhouse gas emissions intensity reduction targets and to achieve net zero by 2050."
But Mr Littleproud said it was base load power that the steel mill needed, not renewables.
"We will hold onto our coal assets to allow that transition into nuclear and gas so that BlueScope steel can run," Mr Littleproud said.
"It can't run on wind turbines and batteries. It simply can't run on that. It will need firming base load power and it won't be just BlueScope."
When asked where the steelworks would source the vast sums of clean electricity it will require in the future, Mr Littleproud pointed to the opposition's plan to develop an Australian nuclear industry.
However, he ruled out building a nuclear power plant in the Illawarra.
"This won't be a potential site," he said.
"We have been very clear from the start we will announce where those sites are, but we have been very clear they will be where existing coal-fired power stations are."
Made in Australia
Meanwhile, the trade union organisation representing Illawarra workers at the steelworks and related industries said it would reverse its support for offshore wind if the government did not guarantee the use of local Australian steel in their production.
Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said the union movement had been behind offshore wind and he accepted the blades, in particular, used highly specialised steel, but said the bulk of the turbines could and should be made from Australian steel.
"The government tells us they want a future made in Australia. We have one question: is the future made in Australia going to be on top of Chinese steel?" he said.
"Because at the moment they refuse to give us an assurance that they are going to use the local product."
Chris Bowen has refused to commit to a local steel content quota for offshore wind turbines planned for the Illawarra.
"A better way of doing it is to say do your best to the proponents, give me your best possible local content and that's one of the criteria I then consider," he said.
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