Ms MADELEINE KING (Brand—Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia) (12:07): by leave—There are few bigger global challenges than addressing climate change. Australia has enshrined our commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 into legislation. We will not meet our commitment to net zero without the resources sector. The road to net zero runs through the Australian resources industry. Resources have been hugely important to our past and are even more important for our present and future. These are exciting times for the sector because of the enormous opportunities that lie ahead. To realise these opportunities we need a strong, responsible and inclusive resources sector equipped to confront and capitalise on global trends. The resources sector's contribution to national prosperity is unequalled. Australia's resources sector directly employs more than a quarter of a million Australians. More than a million jobs are supported directly or indirectly by the resources industry. The industry contributes 14.5 per cent to Australia's domestic product of $2.4 trillion. That 14.5 per cent equates to $354 billion and has been a source of strength to the Australian economy amid global economic headwinds, including the COVID-19 pandemic and, before that, the Global Financial Crisis. The resources industry is the most significant contributor to Australian government revenue. Taxes and royalties paid by the resources sector make an essential contribution to the services that Australians rely on. Australian governments collected $47 billion in taxes and royalties in the 2021 financial year. And like all taxation revenue, it also contributes to community services, emergency services, roads and train lines, the Australian Defence Force, our welfare system and, of course, disaster relief. Australia's resources sector reached record export earnings of $240 billion in 2021-22, which is 70 per cent of the value of our exports. It is the bedrock of our national prosperity and it has seen us through uncertain economic conditions. In 2023 the resources industry employed over 280,000 Australians across the country, and up and down and across its centre the resources sector is often the beating heart of many regional communities. But we cannot take the success for granted though. There are big challenges shaping the world, and the future will look very different to the past. Industry and governments must work together so that we have a future-facing resources sector equipped to confront and capitalise on these challenges. We must continue to work together to achieve the dual objectives of achieving net zero emissions and decarbonisation of our economy while continuing to grow our national prosperity. So what do I mean when I say the road to net zero runs through the resources sector? It means that our resources and minerals will be essential to build a decarbonised economy. Minerals like lithium, vanadium, silicon and rare-earth elements are essential in making clean energy technology such as batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles. Our traditional minerals such as iron ore and bauxite, as inputs to steel and aluminium, will also be integral. Steel, in particular, will play a key role in all renewables. Each new megawatt of solar power requires between 35 and 45 tonnes of steel, and each new megawatt of offshore wind power requires 120 to 180 tonnes of steel. In turn, making 180 tonnes of steel to produce a new megawatt of offshore wind power needs at least 288 tonnes of iron ore and 139 tonnes of metallurgical coal. Similarly, gas will remain crucial for quite some time. Some fail to acknowledge this, but Australia's coal and gas resources are essential for energy security, stability and reliability both domestically and across the Asia-Pacific and will be needed for decades. From Hanoi to Hyderabad and from Seoul to Singapore, families rely on Australia's natural resources to provide the energy security they need. The war in Ukraine proves that nations see energy security as a very high priority. Moreover, we know that gas is critical to our trading partners' own net zero pathways. Australia will support our regional neighbours as a stable and reliable partner in ensuring their energy security and supporting their paths to decarbonisation. Our trade and strategic partners have committed to net zero, but they will take different pathways to get there. While some countries will be able to transition to net zero rapidly, others will take longer because of the structure of their economies. This is reinforced by the Asia Zero Emission Community Joint Statement, signed in Tokyo in March. Decarbonisation pathways will be tailored to meet the circumstances of each country. Australian energy exports will safeguard their energy security as they make their transitions. Gas is a key fuel, even as we transform our energy system. Even as Japan and Korea pursue net zero, they will continue to require gas for decades. Here in Australia, gas provides the flexibility we need to add more renewables to the grid and is a vital feedstock and heat source for our industrial base. Manufacturing accounted for 26 per cent of Australian domestic gas used in 2021, and, of this, around 16 per cent was used as feedstock for chemicals, including fertiliser production for the agricultural sector. Gas is absolutely essential for energy-intensive projects such as extraction, concentration and the processing of critical minerals and rare-earth elements. These are the minerals that are central to our energy transition. Very high temperatures are required to turn our copper, aluminium, tin, nickel, cobalt, lithium, gold, silver and rare earths into the wires, batteries, magnets and semiconductors that power clean-energy technologies. In order to decarbonise, the world needs Australia's resources industry and it needs our critical minerals. No gas means no processing of critical minerals and, therefore, no batteries for the storage of renewable energy, and that makes the world's pathway to net zero emissions all the more difficult. As the energy transition unfolds, if gas supply declines faster than demand, it results in the uneasy combination of high prices and energy insecurity, which we've seen around the world since Russia's illegal and abhorrent invasion of Ukraine. High prices and energy insecurity hurt those who can least afford it. I will continue to work with industry to find the best solutions to ensure Australia has a secure and reliable access to Australian gas. I've already secured commitments from east coast LNG producers through the Heads of Agreement, signed last year, to offer substantial volumes of additional gas to the domestic market in 2023. The Heads of Agreement has improved our domestic gas market conditions in relation to supply. Moreover, this week the government will finalise our reforms to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism to allow for quarterly action in relation to potential gas shortfalls. Without question, one of the most important contributions the resources sector will make to climate mitigation, global security and Australia's national prosperity and sustainability will be to unlock our vast potential as a supplier of critical minerals, rare-earth elements and energy-transition metals. Global demand for these commodities is rapidly increasing, driven by decarbonisation and the growth in electronic communication and military technologies. With this expected growth we find ourselves in an enviable position. Australia boasts some of the richest deposits of critical mineral reserves in the world. We have the world's second-largest deposits of lithium and cobalt and the sixth-largest deposits of rare earth elements. The International Energy Agency projects minerals demand for use in electric vehicles could grow by approximately 3,000 per cent up to 2040. Of this, lithium demand could grow around 4,000 per cent, with graphite and cobalt growing by around 2,000 to 2½ thousand per cent. We may have a foot in the door as a global critical mineral supplier, of course thanks to our geology but, equally as important, thanks to our globally renowned, highly advanced, world's-best-practice resources industry. We have seen governments around the world, both partners and competitors, putting plans in place to build their critical minerals capability. The US Inflation Reduction Act will drive historic investments in clean energy supply chains, turbocharge its decarbonisation habits and transform the operating environment for businesses globally. The EU is preparing its own green deal industrial plan, which includes a critical raw materials act to drive investment in its clean technology sector. Countries are building their industries, securing their supply of strategically important minerals and positioning themselves to capture the economic opportunities that flow. Similarly, Australia must do everything we can to ensure we grasp this opportunity with both hands. I will soon release Australia's new Critical Minerals Strategy. This updated strategy will help grow our sector and reflect the important role our critical minerals can play in helping Australia and international partners achieve their net-zero targets. Unlocking the full potential of our critical minerals endowments is a core part of realising our ambition to be a clean energy superpower. Our determination to get the settings right underscores how strongly we believe critical minerals can create economic opportunities for the nation. The sector will be crucial in enabling global climate goals but will also play a role in Australia's net-zero pathway. The resources sector is a major emitter, responsible for around one-fifth of Australian emissions. It will need to play its part for Australia to meet its national targets. Almost 70 per cent of the resources companies covered by the safeguard mechanism have already committed to net zero, and, in fact, many did well before this Commonwealth government had a chance to in this new government. Many Australian resource projects are already at the leading edge globally in deploying renewables, electrification, methane abatement technologies and carbon capture and storage. While it is up to the companies to make the investments needed to take these technologies forward, the government will also play a role. Through the safeguard mechanism reforms, we're providing the resources sector with the certainty it needs to invest in technologies and decarbonise its operations. We will play a role through sustained research and development effort in collaboration to bring through low-emissions technologies. In my first speech, I noted that it is important that this country supports the science and research that will be required to care for our lands and oceans to get the most from these resources without decimating the soil, the air and the sea, and I stand by these words today. Our government has engaged widely with industry, scientists and representatives from First Nations, the community and environmental organisations about what the sector needs to be successful in managing and capitalising on the global transition. Last week, I also met with my state and territory ministerial counterparts—the first such meeting since 2020. The common message is that bold, decisive and focused action will be needed. This means driving mineral exploration to open up new geological frontiers and develop a pipeline of new mining projects. The International Energy Agency projects that global supply from existing mines and projects under construction can only meet half the world's projected demand for lithium and cobalt and around 80 per cent of the copper demand. By continued investments in exploration, Australia can help fill that gap. This means ensuring a workforce with the skills needed for the 21st century. This will need to be a workforce made of geologists, chemists, metallurgists and engineers but also those involved in community engagement, robotics and automation specialists. It will be a workforce that understands the role it is playing in meeting the world's climate goals. This workforce will be invaluable to the global challenge of arresting dangerous climate change. It means leveraging the expertise of our world-leading scientists, including the national bodies like the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Geoscience Australia, and our world-leading mining equipment, technology and services sector. We won't reach net zero without our resources sector but, equally, it will be impossible without this highly skilled workforce of the future. To capture the opportunities before us means building our onshore minerals processing capability so Australia can secure greater value from our world-class resources endowments. This will be a priority of the government's $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, of which $1 billion has been earmarked for value-adding in resources projects. It's a very important nation-building initiative. It is worth reminding ourselves that Australia is the world's biggest producer of raw lithium and a significant producer of other raw battery materials, but has only modest shares of global markets for processed minerals and high-purity battery precursors. The government supports a resources sector that is economically sound but also environmentally and socially responsible. There is no doubt the community has high and changing expectations of the resources sector as we head to 2050. The sector must meet these expectations if it is to maintain the social licence to operate in the decades ahead. As minister, I want to see genuine partnerships between the sector and First Nations people. Fifty years ago, in 1973, Labor great Gough Whitlam said: High among my Government's ambitions is to give natural rights to our Aboriginal people. We are determined that their interests will be preserved in any mining operations. This still rings true today, given more than 60 per cent of national resources projects operate on land covered by a Native Title claim or determination. This land always was and always will be First Nations people's land, and we should respect and celebrate the fact that we share this land with the oldest continuous culture on Earth. These places are sacred to our First Nations peoples and should always be respected. Our prosperity and jobs are built on the consent of First Nations people to mine their land, and they are still suffering from a wealth and health gap that stays stubbornly open. Our First Nations peoples are entitled to expect Australia's resources sector to invest in local communities and stand up for the things that matter to them. While the resources industry is the highest employer of Indigenous Australians as a proportion of their total workforce, it must continue providing Indigenous employment and supporting economic participation for First Nations men and women. It must provide local recruitment, training and education programs, as well as dedicated procurement from Indigenous-based suppliers. The resources sector has made significant progress in this regard, and I acknowledge that commitment. Given its relationship and record with First Nations communities, I’ve called for the resources industry to publicly back the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the referendum to be held later this year to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution through a voice to parliament. I am pleased that many of the major resource companies—including BHP, Woodside, Rio Tinto and Wesfarmers—will support the recognition of Indigenous Australians through a voice to parliament. They will be powerful advocates to help progress this crucial national agenda. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recognise First Nations people in the Constitution in a meaningful way, and I thank the resources sector for its support. The industry has an important role to play on environmental protection. The sector must operate under a comprehensive regulatory regime which balances development needs with managing environmental and cultural impacts. The government has committed to work with stakeholders on environmental law reform to ensure our national environmental laws work better for everyone. Effective environmental legislation strengthens community confidence, resulting in greater trust in regulatory decisions. Being responsible over the course of the life of a project is a key part of maintaining the sector's social license. Whether it is onshore or offshore resources projects, communities will have faith in the sector if they have confidence that projects will be decommissioned in a safe, environmentally responsible and timely way. Companies need to actively plan and provision for this throughout the life of their projects. In particular, offshore oil and gas decommissioning activities will increase significantly over coming decades. The government continues to learn the lessons from the challenges of assuming responsibility for decommissioning the Northern Endeavour while ensuring that taxpayers don't foot the bill. I am committed to ensuring the policy and regulatory regime governing decommissioning is robust, and the necessary safeguards are in place. But I'm also excited about the opportunity for Australia to benefit from the significant investment that will be required. Decommissioning is a $60 billion opportunity for Australia. I want us to capture this investment opportunity to build a competitive, world-class decommissioning and sustainable industry to service demand in Australia and the Asia-Pacific. It is important that we work together with other stakeholders to ensure that decommissioning in offshore Australia is done well and done right. The government has a proud history of supporting workers' rights through industrial relations reform, and workplace safety must be part of this conversation. There have been three tragic deaths on Australian mine sites in 2023 alone: Mr Jody Byrne from Western Australia, and Mr Dylan Langridge and Mr Trevor Davis from Queensland. One death is already too many. The Australian government will be working with our state and territory colleagues to identify where governments can improve safety across all Australian workplaces, including resources projects, but this is ultimately an obligation for the industry. It must make workplace safety its highest priority, because every worker should return to their families at the end of a shift or at the end of a swing. To succeed in the future, the sector must find a way to attract the next generation of mining workers. The availability of skilled expertise, as well as the number of young people with a strong ambivalence to the mining sector, is one of its greatest challenges and we need to bring them back. That will require us to tell more and more often the story of Australia's resources sector—its past and its future. Our ongoing prosperity depends on resources; to reach net zero by 2050 we will need all the expertise of that resources sector and the people who work within it. This nation needs geoscientists, geophysicists, chemists, metallurgists and engineers to find and produce the minerals and metals that the world needs to decarbonise and stop dangerous climate change. One way to increase the skill supply is to employ more women in the sector. We have an opportunity to redefine what the resources sector means for gender equality. Until 1986—this is hard to believe—Western Australian mine owners faced fines of up to $500 if women were caught working underground. Today, women make up 21½ per cent of the sector's workforce. We have come a long way since 1986, but women still face discrimination and harassment, and, sadly, even assault in these workplaces. That's why we're committed to working with industry to ensure that we have safe and inclusive workplaces that not only welcome and encourage women but which also value and support them to lead. Strong trade and strategic partnerships will sustain and open up new economic opportunities, and will help to build the secure and resilient global supply chains for the technologies Australian people want. The sector has always been successful at attracting foreign direct investment. The opening up of iron ore provinces in the Pilbara in the sixties truly transformed Australia and helped establish the vital trade relationships with Asian partners that remain so important today. As everyone knows, the Prime Minister and I, along with the trade minister, visited India earlier this month, accompanied by the CEOs of major resources companies. The visit underscored the importance of the Australia India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and our Australia-India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership. This partnership creates new opportunities to partner with India in solar; hydrogen; carbon capture and storage; critical minerals; and clean technology manufacturing. Looking ahead, we are working with key strategic partners to attract investment, share technological knowledge and accelerate development of resilient, diversified, responsible and sustainable supply chains for the technologies of the 21st century. As announced by the Prime Minister in November, we're beginning discussions to establish a critical minerals partnership with the European Union, and we're working with the US to ensure that we can capture the massive opportunities offered by its Inflation Reduction Act. We're also deepening our relationships with Japan, the Republic of Korea, the EU member states and investors in traditional resources, who are turning their attention to critical minerals and also to hydrogen. For many years to come, Australian resources will continue to support our economy and pay for the services Australia relies on. This government will ensure that the resources sector provides the nation with a pipeline of secure well-paying jobs and a buoyant economy for years to come through the traditional resources sector and the emerging sector that will be essential to decarbonisation around the world. Success will mean a sector that continues to provide the national wealth and high-paying jobs to support communities and the nation—a sector that has invested in building and sustaining its social licence with our communities. At the same time, it will be one that has been, and continues to be, critical to our shared prosperity and our future. I thank the House, and provide a copy of the statement.