Could we really become a superpower?

Speaker 00:00

ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more.

Ingrid Burford· Guest0:06

Australia's always been the lucky country. Sunshine, beaches, and that one magpie that always seems to know where you live (magpie calls).

Speaker 20:14

Yeah. Get away from my chip, please. Luck might not cut it anymore.

Ingrid Burford· Guest0:18

So, can we make our own luck and turn this complicated world to our advantage?

Speaker 20:23

That's our Global Roaming summer season. Can Australia surf the world's chaos without wiping out?

Ingrid Burford· Guest0:30

Fresh new episodes all summer. Search for Global Roaming on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Peter Martin· Host0:37

On the face of it, Australia's luck is set to run out as the world moves to net zero. We're among the biggest exporters of coal and gas. But there's something else we could export, something we'd be much better at making in large quantities than just about every country on Earth. It's green iron and green aluminium, and a lot of other green products manufactured here using our near unique blend of sunlight, wind, minerals, and acres and acres of space. Getting there wouldn't be cheap. We'd need to make unheard-of amounts of electricity, and we'd need to upend our economy. We'd need to become an economic superpower. Could we? Is this the sort of Australia we'd choose if we could choose our own Australia? And are we even up for it?