Mr Morrison lauded the Hunter Region's collaborative and innovative economy, which he said "keeps adapting and evolving" as "a rich legacy of its industrial base".

A solid media contingent followed the PM from his first engagement at the Tomago headquarters of electrical firm Ampcontrol, then on to the Carrington wharves run by the Port of Newcastle and then on to a community lunch at Kahibah Bowling Club.

Ensuring newly announced Liberal candidates Brooke Vitnell (Paterson) and Nell McGill (Shortland) were close by at every photo opportunity, Mr Morrison made it clear he was on a campaign footing, referring more than once to the coming election.

Asked when he would release the details of his government's "net zero by 2050" modelling, Mr Morrison repeatedly answered with a single word: "Soon".

Asked for more detail of the deal the Liberals cut to have the Barnaby Joyce-led National Party sign up to "net zero", Mr Morrison said the government would be "outlining policies between now and the next election", adding that investments in "hydrogen hubs" around the country would "make the regions stronger".

As the Newcastle Herald reported on Monday, Mr Morrison was in Newcastle to talk up the "hydrogen economy" on the back of a $3-million feasibility study into the development of a "green hydrogen hub" at the Port of Newcastle, with $1.5 million coming from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the other half from the port and its partner, Macquarie Bank's Green Energy Group.

Port chairman Roy Green told the Herald that with the former T4 coal loader site on Kooragang Island no longer needed for coal, the site immediately downstream from the Tourle Street bridge would be "repurposed" towards hydrogen and other new energy sources including ammonia.

He said this was part of a diversification strategy that still included the steelworks-site container terminal. Mr Morrison said yesterday that he "had always thought this was a good plan", and had said so previously.

Asked what he could do to help the terminal plan, Mr Morrison said: "There's not much further we can do at our level. We need the parties to be able to sort it out and get on with it."

"The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) have been dealing with these matters and really wants the parties to sort all this out, and I hope they do," Mr Morrison said. The ACCC lost its container terminal case in the Federal Court earlier this year and announced in June an intention to appeal against this decision, which found that competition laws did not apply to the NSW government's port privatisations.

"The footprint here at the Port of Newcastle is incredibly valuable and not just for the jobs it creates but for the linkages right across the region and, frankly, the whole state. This is the biggest port on the eastern seaboard of our country, so this is a very big port and we want to see it go forward be highly competitive and that's what our economic objective is."

Information released by the port on the green hydrogen hub says Port of Newcastle and Macquarie's Green Investment Group have signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese energy company (and prominent Hunter coal buyer) Idemitsu, Newcastle Buses and light rail operator Keolis Downer, Lake Macquarie City Council, Snowy Hydro and the Chinese/Singapore-backed gas and power pipeline company Jemena, with the University of Newcastle as the project's "research and development partner".

The university's high-profile hydrogen researcher Professor Behdad Moghtaderi was at Carrington along with Vice Chancellor Alex Zelinsky, with Mr Morrison praising the university's energy research and innovation.

Professor Moghtaderi showed Mr Morrison a model of the 40 megawatt hydrogen producer or "electrolyser" at the heart of the hydrogen hub project.

Yesterday's visit began at Tomago, with a small group of protesters with climate-related placards outside Ampcontrol's Old Punt Road premises.

Inside, a mass of Ampcontrol staff and visiting dignatories donned high-vis jackets to watch on as Mr Morrison was shown five innovative projects: a stainless steel electronic equipment room being used in the Westconnex tunnels and other infrastructure sites; the Gilghi remote off-grid water treatment system (a joint venture with Aurecon, an underground mining car converted from diesel to battery, a Solar Cube stand-alone power system and a "world's first" domestic hydrogen battery developed with Sydney start-up LAVO.

After hearing from project staff, Mr Morrison said these were examples of his government's "technology not taxes" approach to reaching "net zero by 2050".

"You don't have to put electricity prices up, or sell out sections of the economy, to get emissions down," Mr Morrison said, adding that "low-cost technologies" were the best way to help developing countries address climate change.

Mr Morrison said that despite criticism of Australia at COP26, he was confident that the nation was doing well in terms of its net-zero aspirations.

He said Australia had a 20.8 per cent fall in emissions since 2005 at the same time as its economy had grown by 45 per cent while we "developed one of the largest liquid natural gas industries in in the world".

"Our emissions intensity has fallen by 56 per cent," Mr Morrison said.

"Only one other country in the G20 - which I told them in Rome - that has a better performance than Australia when it comes to emissions intensity and that is the United Kingdom.

"You have only four countries in the G20 that have a better performance on emissions reduction than Australia - France Italy UK and Germany - all the others Australia has out performed.

"We are doing it here in the Hunter, in we are doing it in the Pilbara, in Darwin, in North Queensland and in Bell Bay, Tasmania. Our way, the Australian way, which is not legislating jobs away and putting costs on businesses. It's about the right incentives and right investments to make technology a reality."

Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said Mr Morrison saw "plenty of Hunter innovation" in his site tours today.

"The Prime Minister said it himself that the Hunter is the sweet spot in terms of hydrogen futures," Mr Hawes said.

"He was very impressed with how easily and ambitiously the Hunter seeks to adapt our economy to seize opportunities for our region.

"If the Hunter can show how it's done, there is a real chance we will be a showcase for the Commonwealth taking our hydrogen capabilities to the world."

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