Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion from the member of Spence regarding the signing of the United States-Australia framework for securing the supply of critical minerals and rare earths. There is no question that this agreement represents an important moment in the deep and enduring friendship between Australia and the United States. For more than 70 years our alliance has been the bedrock of Australia's security. Whether through ANZUS, the Five Eyes partnership or more recently AUKUS, the United States has stood with Australia in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in our region. This new critical mineral framework continues that tradition.

Critical minerals and rare earths are the building blocks of the modern economy. They are essential to the technologies that underpin both our national security and our economic security. Ensuring the resilience of these supply chains is not just an environmental or economic imperative; it's a national security imperative also. While we have seen out of APEC President Xi agree to lift export controls on rare earths to the United States, it is clear that the Chinese stranglehold on critical minerals and rare earths processing cannot continue. Australia has the resources the world needs, and there is a real chance for us to capture the full value of these resources right here at home. This shouldn't just be limited to the US, though. It should also extend to our European partners, particularly given the increased NATO investment in defence we've seen just recently.

What matters though is not the announcement but the execution, and this is where the opposition has real concerns. Importantly for Western Australians, who are right at the forefront of this agreement, there is still no clear plan on how this framework will translate into new processing facilities, new regional jobs—that's pretty important to the people in Durack—or new investment certainty for local industry. In fact, many in the sector say that the biggest obstacle to developing Australia's critical minerals capability is our government's own red tape. It took just two days following the signing of the deal for a big dark cloud in the form of the government's extreme nature-positive laws to jeopardise this agreement.

Despite the rebrand of the proposed environmental laws, the Business Council of Australia has identified several critical areas where the legislation should be amended. They've warned that reforms that don't strike the right balance will mean we won't get the critical minerals projects that are vital to Australia's future prosperity. There is a real irony here that, in the name of environmental protection, we will export these opportunities to countries who, quite frankly, couldn't care less about our environment. Does anyone really believe losing those opportunities here in Australia to China will benefit us or, indeed, our environment? Unfortunately, I expect the answer from those opposite is probably yes.

You only have to look at the antics of the member for Hasluck last week in this place to see that. Carrying a solar panel into the main chamber, the member for Hasluck said:

Under Labor we are delivering cleaner, cheaper, Australian made energy, built by Aussie workers and backed by Aussie resources, powering our economy now and into the future.

That sounds really good doesn't it? Nothing the member for Hasluck said in that statement is true. We haven't suddenly become cleaner under Labor's watch. Australia's emissions have barely dipped since Labor took office. They remain at 28 per cent below 2005 levels, which is exactly where they were when the coalition left office in 2022. Energy certainly isn't cheaper under Labor, with electricity costs going through the roof. Households have seen a 23.6 per cent rise over the past 12 months, which, as we have all seen, has pushed inflation once again outside the RBA's target band.

But, of course, it's not just households feeling the pinch. So is industry. As we know, Tomago, the largest aluminium smelter in Australia, confirmed last week they are consulting with their thousand workers over their future beyond 2028 due to soaring power costs. Another bailout is now being proposed. It would be the fourth of the year, following Whyalla, Glencore and Nyrstar. Most egregious, though, is the claim that it is Australian-made technology that is driving energy security.

So, to summarise, we have inflation rising, with Australians struggling to afford their bills, we have Australian heavy industry on the brink and we are increasingly reliant on foreign imports to power our economy. To me, that does not sound like Labor is delivering for Australia. It is definitely not our future made in Australia.

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