Government talks up energy, pre-fabrication with investors

The Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic have announced the establishment of an Investor Council to help unlock more private sector capital in key areas like housing and cleaner and cheaper energy.

An outcome of an Investor Roundtable on Friday, the council support better coordination of investment in national priorities under the government’s Front Door for investment, which will be up and running by September 2025.

According to a statement by the Ministers: “It will enable better information sharing, coordination and identification of barriers to investment by regularly convening key government agencies and investment vehicles.”

The federal government has a plethora of investment and grant sources including the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Export Finance Australia, Housing Australia, National Reconstruction Fund, Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, Regional Investment Corporation, Future Fund, Net Zero Economy Agency and AusTrade.

Leading investors at the roundtable with more than $3 trillion under management committed to work closely with the government, according to the Ministers.

“Institutional investors will continue to look for opportunities to deliver the necessary capital to transform Australia’s energy system by 2050 and endorsed the government’s target of 82 per cent renewable electricity by 2030, as part of a new Energy Compact.

“This is all about the best returns for investors and the best outcomes for Australians.”

On housing, banks, superannuation funds and other institutional investors will work together with industry to address barriers to financing modern methods of construction such as pre-fabricated housing, at scale.

“Treasurer’s Investor Roundtable members will provide advice by June 2025 outlining options that can be implemented to get capital moving in the sector.”

The discussions follow on from the first Treasurer’s Investor Roundtable on housing held in late 2022, the second roundtable on the net zero transformation in early 2023 and the third roundtable on energy, defence and social impact investment in late 2023.

Picture: Treasurer Jim Chalmers