TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Queensland’s Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Cameron Dick MP, made a groundbreaking visit to Taiwan in mid-August.

In doing so, he became the first Queensland government minister to visit Taiwan in 10 years. Whilst such visits have, of course, been delayed by the COVID years, the treasurer saw this visit as a chance to reenergize, renew, and reinvigorate Taiwan and Queensland’s relationship. Queensland is already home to 36,000 Queensland-Taiwanese.

The treasurer had meetings with two biotech companies, 11 semiconductor companies, 13 energy companies, four financial institutions, eight recycling companies, a speech at the ROC-Australia and Australia and Taiwan Business Council’s 36th Joint Conference and attended a gala dinner with over 230 invited guests in just over 60 hours.

Queensland has had a representative office in Taiwan since 1991 and the treasurer sees Taiwan and Queensland as friends with shared interests, close links, and complementary strengths, across many sectors.

In his various speeches, the treasurer reiterated Queensland and Taiwan’s current cooperation and future opportunities for collaboration in the areas of green hydrogen, food and agriculture, innovation and technology, education and training, recycling, and the cutting-edge science of nanoparticle technology.

For decades, Queensland has helped Taiwan meet its energy needs and in this new energy era of net zero emissions by 2050, the treasurer believes Taiwan and Queensland remain aligned.

As noted by the treasurer, Taiwan has its 2050 Net Zero Roadmap and Queensland has its own Energy and Jobs Plan, with a 70% renewable energy target by 2032, and a target of renewable energy by 2035.

Green Hydrogen

One of the key elements of Queensland’s renewable energy plan is the development of a green renewable hydrogen industry. “Green hydrogen, however, provides us with the means to bottle and transport our sunshine, and that renewable energy, to our partners in Asia,” he said.

By 2030, according to the treasurer, Queensland aims to be the leader in hydrogen production in Australia with a comprehensive Hydrogen Industry Strategy, and a dedicated Minister for Hydrogen. Queensland has confirmed its commitment to renewable energy and hydrogen by allocating an additional A$2 billion (NT$41 billion) to its Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund.

The treasurer reiterated that the A$2 billion was in addition to the nearly A$6 billion already committed to unlocking the potential of investment-ready projects in Queensland. Queensland is also partnering with the private sector on projects to accelerate the use and export of hydrogen, with 50 renewable hydrogen projects underway in the state.

Food and Agriculture

The treasurer also wants to deepen Queensland and Taiwan’s existing collaboration in food and agriculture. Current collaborations include -

• Taiwan Banana Research Institute and the Queensland Department of Agriculture joint development of TR4 disease-resistant bananas.


• Queensland’s Sunny Queen Eggs supplied millions of eggs during recent shortages in Taiwan.


• Taiwanese lychees growing in Yeppoon, through a Queensland/Taiwan Agricultural Research partnership.

Innovation and Technology

In these areas, the treasurer cited the examples of Taiwan-based dive company DeepBlu who recently tested diving technology on the Great Barrier Reef, supported by a Queensland grant, and Taiwan’s TI Space testing rockets in the Lockyer Valley near Brisbane, with Rocket Technologies International.

Education and Training

Queensland is supporting Taiwan’s quest to be a bilingual nation by 2030. Queensland’s world-class universities, The Queensland Institute, and the Queensland Department of Education are all providing bilingual teacher training for Taiwan’s school teachers.

The treasurer believes that international education does more than just train minds, it builds people-to-people connections and relationships that can last a lifetime.

Recycling

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Taiwan’s Ming Fu Group and recycling company ERS Queensland is an example, cited by the treasurer, of Taiwan and Queensland’s ongoing collaboration. This MOU confirmed the establishment of a joint venture solar panel recycling plant in Pinkenba in Brisbane, and it brings together Taiwanese know-how in resource recovery, and Queensland’s burgeoning solar energy industry.

Nanoparticle Technology

Another collaboration that the treasurer was particularly proud of was the announcement of a cutting-edge nanoparticle technology partnership. The team behind it is Gene Company, a Queensland-based biotech start-up, backed by the founders and investors of publicly listed Lin BioScience and Be-lite Bio. Gene Company has entered into a licensing agreement with Queensland’s Griffith University to develop and commercialize a novel RNA drug candidate which has the potential to become a universal treatment for COVID-19, along with other viral respiratory infections caused by coronaviruses.

“This is an incredible achievement and a partnership with multi-billion-dollar potential,” said the treasurer.

The treasurer said that Queensland and Taiwan were resilient partners yesterday, are resilient partners today, and will be resilient partners tomorrow.