Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It's a very kind present. But I really want to thank the member for Swan for her question today—another great birthday present. The member for Swan is a brilliant advocate for the resources sector. She has worked in the sector and is proud of her time in the steelcaps and the high vis. And she's not the only one on this side of the House. The members for Moore, for Bullwinkel, for Hunter and for Spence—and I'm sorry if I've left out other former resources workers here. All of these members that have worked in that sector know much more than all of those opposite put together.

Those members and all the members on this side are backing Australian ingenuity and capability, which brings in new jobs, new investment and new opportunities in mining and processing and refining. We are strengthening the mining industry because the Albanese government is the true party of the resources sector. Those words often trigger those opposite, with some pretty strange responses, and that is because they simply can't face the fact that Labor is delivering for the resources industry and has been delivering from day one in government.

We have committed over $28 billion to support our critical minerals industry. We have now legislated into law the Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive. It was legislated last year with absolutely no help from those opposite. It was designed with the resources industry and is an absolute game changer for critical minerals and rare earths. Just yesterday our $1.2 billion Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve passed this House of Representatives, and we will begin delivery on that almost immediately, once it passes through the other place.

We are delivering our $3.4 billion Resourcing Australia's Prosperity program through Geoscience Australia. They've already found potential deposits of rare earths. We have delivered $1 billion for critical minerals investment through the National Reconstruction Fund and already invested in Liontown underground lithium mine and also the Alpha high-purity alumina project in the seat of Flynn. We have delivered $885 million in loans for six critical minerals projects through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. That's over 3,000 jobs and $6.6 billion in public benefit right across the country.

We have delivered more than $150 million in grants to the Critical Minerals Development Program and the Australian Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub and also $10 million doing work on common-user infrastructure and processing facilities with Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and the NT. This government is delivering for the critical minerals industry and for resources sector workers right across the country. Because we understand the resources sector, we back it in every single time.

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