The Government can't afford to continue in demonising gas companies as they did for the nine years the were in Opposition. Coal and gas are our main sources of energy, and the more that supply falls the more our energy bills will continue to rise.

This funding will provide a vital boost for our local communities, backing local jobs and economic growth while delivering lasting upgrades that will benefit residents for years to come.

The Morrison Government is supporting community groups in Shortland through the Powering Communities Program to enable not-for-profit groups to cut their power bills and carbon emissions and provide support to jobs in the Region.

Households and businesses in towns like Cardiff South, Charlestown, and Macquarie Hills will be able to access NBN Co’s fastest internet plans of up to 1 gigabit per second on-demand by 2023.

There were 524 projects funded under the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program, and I’m delighted to announce two very important projects in my Patron Seat of Shortland.

This will provide a vital boost for our local communities, backing local jobs and economic growth while delivering lasting upgrades that will benefit residents for years to come.

This funding will enable cinemas to recover from the severe disruption that has largely impacted their revenue streams, and work towards restoring normal operations as COVID- 19 restrictions ease.

With skills shortages in key industries across the Hunter Region, this is a great time to be looking for work. These job fairs are a fantastic way of meeting employers face-to-face and getting a foot in the door.

Labor and the Greens getting into bed together means that at least 80,000 jobs across the nation are put at risk and half a trillion dollars worth of local community investments will be abandoned. We cannot risk the threat that a Labor-Greens alliance poses to our nation.

If you live in the Hunter Region and you’re looking at your ballot paper and thinking, ‘Who is going to support jobs in this region and who is going to keep the lights on?’ It’s certainly not the Labor Party who will line up with the Greens and shut your jobs down and shut the economy down as quickly as possible.

This change gives local GP practices a larger pool of doctors to recruit from, which should make it easier for clinics to secure more doctors for Maitland and surrounding areas.

The expansion of the Newcastle Art Gallery will be great for locals as well as a timely boost for the tourism sector. This funding is further recognition of the Federal Government’s commitment to working with our state counterparts to deliver for our regions.

The Morrison Government has awarded a leading engineering company a $164.9 million contract with Downer EDI Works Pty Limited to support Australia’s air power capabilities and deliver a major boost to the Hunter region and the wider NSW economy.

The Hexham Straight widening project is being delivered as part of the Australian and New South Wales governments' $2 billion commitment towards the extension of the M1 Pacific Motorway to Raymond Terrace.

Three schools in the Hunter Region will be receiving funding as part of the Morrison Government's Capital Grants Program.

Residents in the electorates of Hunter (Bonnells Bay and Muswellbrook), Paterson (Anna Bay), Shortland (Buff Point, Caves Beach, and San Remo), and Newcastle (Merewether) will benefit from being able to access ultrafast broadband.

The gloves really came off on Sky News whilst discussing Net-Zero by 2050!

Net Zero does not mean zero emissions. Coal has a role to play in the Australia's future, but we are looking to innovative new technologies to offset those emissions so that we can protect our environment.

The Morrison Government will not support the imposition of higher taxes on hard-working Australians to reduce our emissions. Our market-based solutions will see us meet our targets through technology.

Thank you to the Hunter Breast Cancer Foundation and their President Kevin Baker for the fantastic work that you do for those suffering from breast cancer in the Hunter Region.

We don’t know where emissions reduction technology will be in 30 years time, but we are currently seeing significant advancements in this space.

However we reduce our emissions in Australia, we need to ensure we are securing affordable and reliable baseload power so that Australian manufacturers such as the Tomago Aluminium Smelter are able to survive.

The Shoal Bay Country Club has received $32,000 and the Criterion Hotel in Weston has received $26,340 through the Live Music Australia program to help grow a local, sustainable live music culture in the Paterson electorate.

The Morrison Government is investing in building a better Hunter Region with more than $4.1M for projects being developed by Port Stephens Council, Lake Macquarie Council, and Curious Legends Ltd.

Community Disability Alliance Hunter Incorporated (CDAH) have been awarded $442,377 for their Project to improve local career pathways and boost skills development for people with disability.

The Morrison Government is supporting one of the most long-standing businesses in Newcastle to take its innovative Recycling and Clean Energy National Manufacturing project to the next level.

Speaking with the panel on Chris Smith Tonight about the Prime Minister’s successful visit to Washington DC and the future of Australia's energy policy.

Today, the Morrison Government announced a $464 million grant program to stimulate the development of hydrogen hubs right across Australia. I am working to make the Hunter Region a major player in this sweeping transformation of Australia’s energy and export sector. This is a technology-driven and industry-led plan to invest and develop low emissions industries that create Australian jobs, particularly in our regions, as well as cheaper energy for all Australians.

I spoke with Tracy McKelligott on Newcastle Live about how the Morrison Government has declared the Hunter as one of seven national hydrogen hubs that will supercharge the development of an Australian hydrogen industry.

The official launch of The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals (COEMinerals) was also covered by Henry Ballard in the Australian Mining magazine.

$118,000 in Federal Government funding will be granted to upgrade the Medowie Road Driver Reviver site in Paterson to deliver Driver Reviver mass action sign upgrades. This forms part of the $7.2 million our Government is providing to upgrade 71 sites across the country to keep people safe on our roads.

Newcastle-based company Industrial Monitoring & Control Pty Ltd received $1 million in funding from the Federal Government for its innovative proposal of automating the detection of whales at sea through thermal imaging. Their proposal has the potential to enhance regulatory compliance and protect our natural environment for future generations.

Read about the official launch the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals (COEMinerals) in the National Tribune. This Centre will consist of a collaboration between the University of Newcastle and 7 other Australian universities with links to the CSIRO and several major industry partners including FLSmidth, Amira Global and Jord International.

I was honoured to officially launch the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals (COEMinerals). The Australian Government has provided $35 million of funding over 7 years through the Australian Research Council. The Centre will not only work take advantage of the new employment and exporting opportunities in sustainable mining technologies, but also promote sustainability in terms of energy and water use, pollution mitigation, and long-term environmental governance.

Local governments have been a crucial delivery partner to the Federal Government when it comes to the implementation of the economic stimulus packages that have been created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read here about the Financial Assistance Grant programs that have been awarded to local councils in the Hunter Region.

Read about Regal Cinema receiving full funding of their grant request as part of the Morrison Government's $200 million Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund in the Newcastle Herald.

Regal Cinema in Birmingham Gardens, Newcastle has received full funding of their grant request as part of the Morrison Government's $200 million Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund to assist the Australian arts and entertainment sector.

The Federal Government has contributed $4.7 million to the Weir Road bridge underway that crosses Cockle Creek to ensure that the critical freight link is able to remain open all year round.

2,347 businesses in the Paterson Electorate are set to benefit from the establishment of the Business Fibre Zone at Nelson Bay. This is one of the 44 zones that are being developed. These new zones will allow local businesses to access fibre with speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second. NBN Co's business fibre investments have a forecasted productivity benefit of up to 12% for businesses.

Read about the Federal Government's investment into the recycling facility at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre in the Newcastle Herald.

Newcastle Council will receive $5 million in both Federal and State funding to build a materials recycling facility at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre. This centre in Wallsend will be playing a key role in increasing the Hunter’s waste diversity and recycling capacity. It will ease pressure on our environment, and create both jobs and economic investment.

The Morrison Government is supporting the innovative manufacturing company Batt Mobile Equipment Pty Ltd based in the Hunter Region with a $4.5 million grant. The grant will be used by Batt Mobile to build heavy-battery electric vehicles for underground hard rock mines, delivering Australia’s first commercially viable alternative to a diesel fleet.

The Federal Government has committed $4.7 million in funding for the new Weir Road Bridge, connecting Barnsley and Teralba. This funding has been made available under the Federal Government's Bridges Renewal Program (BRP) - an initiative to fund the upgrade and replacement of bridges to enhance access for local communities.

The Federal Government has announced that it will invest over $2.1 million towards six important projects in the Hunter Region to reduce serious injuries and deaths on our roads.

The Morrison Government has committed to assisting Energy Renaissance in accelerating their research and development so that they may create a domestically developed lithium-ion battery energy storage system for critical energy storage infrastructures in Tomago, NSW. This will be the first battery manufacturing facility of its kind and will not only provide vast exporting opportunities for Australia, but also new local jobs for the Hunter Region.

Congratulations to Batt Mobile Equipment on securing $4.5 million to build heavy battery electric vehicles for underground hard rock mines under the Morrison Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative. This will create enormous opportunities for the Hunter Region’s local economy.

The Morrison Government is supporting an innovative local manufacturing company, Batt Mobile Equipment Pty Ltd based in Tomago in the Hunter Region, to grow, expand and employ more Australians.

People with disability in the Hunter Region will be encouraged to interact with a new dedicated one-stop shop providing advice and up-to-date information for people with disability as a national campaign rolls out across our screens this week.

The Morrison Government is backing Australian manufacturers with $800 million in funding to encourage collaboration on major job-creating projects as part of the $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy.

The Morrison Government is providing local company Rotacaster in the Paterson electorate with a grant of $563,094 to increase its competitiveness and productivity, while also helping to grow local jobs

The Morrison Government is providing local company M O Brewery in the Newcastle electorate with a grant of $1,000,000 to increase its competitiveness and productivity, while also helping to grow local jobs.

Programs and activities supporting the health and wellbeing of our veteran community in Shortland will receive a share of more than $2.4 million worth of funding under the Veteran and Community Grants Program, announced today.

Snowy 2.0 is the largest energy storage project in the southern hemisphere. When I spoke to the CEO of Snowy 2.0 Paul Broad, he could not contain his excitement about the boost to the Hunter Region that this investment will create in terms of jobs, economic activity, and energy security.

The collaboration between Energy Renaissance, CSIRO, and IMCRC will promote an Australian Battery Management System instead of relying on an overseas technology platform.

It was great having the Minster for Energy and Emission Reduction, Angus Taylor MP, with me in the Hunter looking at the new Snowy Hydro project – a project designed to provide jobs and affordable power.

Discussions with the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources regarding what will happen to NSW power prices once the Liddell power station closes and potential regional hydrogen export hubs in areas like the Hunter.

Energy Renaissance will make clean and affordable energy more accessible and create greater energy security for Australia and our neighbouring countries.

"Patron Senator for the Hunter Region Hollie Hughes said when the project reached capacity it would be able to provide - in the space of a year - enough batteries to power every public school, hospital, fire station, SES unit and new homes built in Australia."

As Australia's first lithium-ion battery manufacturer, Renaissance One will assist our country in its capacity to rely on its own source of renewable energy in the very near future.

"Energy Renaissance managing director Mark Chilcote committed to opening the factory by 2021 at a soil-turning ceremony with Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes today at the proposed site in Tomago."

I visited the Tomago Aluminium Smelter with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor for the National Energy Address hosted by the Hunter Business Chamber at WesTrac. We need to secure baseload power, so the Federal Government's post COVID-19 gas-fired recovery plan will include a gas power plant at Kurri Kurri if the energy sector fails to replace the capacity lost from the closure of Liddell power station.

Our first day in the Senate and we already have the other parties peddling ignorance and misinformation; they’re always happy to criticise but never able to come up with a plan. It was my joy to set them straight on the Morrison Government’s already remarkable achievements, and our real plans and practical action to further lower emissions and expand renewable Australian energy.

They’re essential components in electric cars, and soon, lithium-ion batteries will be made here in the Hunter.