Australian Sugar Manufacturers opening statement to the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into Sugarcane Bioenergy Opportunities at 9:00am, 19 November 2025.
The statement highlights opportunities for regional Queensland to build new job opportunities in biofuels, bioenergy and biomanufacturing, while maintaining the 20,000 jobs the sugar industry already support.
Today, sugar industry leaders, regional Queensland representatives and businesses will converge on the Queensland Parliament to put forward a bold vision to supercharge regional economies through sugar-derived bioenergy, biofuels and biomanufacturing.
Appearing today at the Brisbane hearing for the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into Sugarcane Bioenergy Opportunities, the Australian Sugar Manufacturers have noted the importance of the bioeconomy to not only create new regional jobs but to underpin the long-term viability of the sugar industry.
“The sugar industry can supply over 30% of Australia’s domestic aviation fuel needs using sugar-derived biofuels, provide affordable biogas to regional manufacturers, and replace coal to make steel production green with renewable pellets made from sugar byproducts”, said Mr. Ash Salardini, CEO of the ASM.
“This agenda will create thousands of new jobs in places like Bundaberg, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns, and will attract more manufacturing businesses to regional Queensland through access to affordable energy and secure the long-term viability of the sugar industry that already supports 20,000 jobs”.
Today, the Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) put forward a roadmap for biofuels and bioenergy that would underpin significant regional job opportunities while reducing emissions. The roadmap, submitted today to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s National Bioenergy Feedstock Strategy, outlines a transformative vision for Australia’s sugar industry.
With respect to recent cane rail incidents, the immediate focus of our members are with those impacted by these incidents, including for injured employees, family members, colleagues and first responders. There are investigations on foot regarding these tragic incidents – the ASM will not speculate on the facts surrounding the matter and let these investigations make the findings they need to make.
The sugar industry takes cane rail safety very seriously, and we are deeply saddened by these tragic events. We work on a continuous improvement basis to adopt good safety practices across the network, and we will be undertaking a thorough review of these practices as a result of the findings from the investigations. However, the immediate focus is on the wellbeing of those impacted.
The Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) has today submitted a bold vision to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sugarcane Bioenergy Opportunities in Queensland, calling for a $40 million investment package to transform the sugar industry into the centrepiece of Australia’s renewable energy and low carbon liquid fuel future.
Representing an industry that supports over 20,000 regional jobs, the ASM outlines how Queensland’s sugar industry can leverage it feedstock (cane juice, molasses, and biomass) to become a national leader in biofuels, biogas, cogeneration, and biomanufacturing — if governments and industry act together.
The submission highlights:
