Madeleine King: Western Australia is key to US relationship

When it comes to the resources industry, ties between the United States and WA run deep.

Before he became a politician, former US President Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer who managed mines near Kalgoorlie in the late 1890s.

In 1899, after he left Australia, Hoover was quoted in the Kalgoorlie Mining News as talking up the potential of mining in WA to the Engineering and Mining Journal of New York.

“The ore reserves already opened in many West Australian mines are not inconsiderable, and will ensure a life of several years,” Hoover said.

“Western Australia is a country of surprises; it may do more than this, but it can conservatively be expected to do so much.”

Back then Hoover was talking about gold, which drove the beginnings of the Australian resources industry and remains an important pillar in it.

But the future of the relationship between the US and Australia, when it comes to resources, lies with critical minerals.

In May this year, Prime Minister Albanese and President Biden met in Japan and announced two new areas of co-operation, on the transition to net zero and on the development of critical minerals supply chains.

The announcement established climate and clean energy co-operation as a new pillar of our Australia-US alliance, creating a ministerial level joint Australia-US critical minerals taskforce.

The aim is to ensure Australian resources companies can strengthen their access to US capital and from the US investment through Inflation Reduction Act.

Critical minerals are essential for defence and medical technologies, and for storage batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

Australia has globally significant endowments of critical minerals and energy transition metals.

Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium and the third largest producer of cobalt. We are the fourth largest producer of rare earths. There could be more, as up to 80 per cent of our continent is underexplored.

This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and I have been in the US working to strengthen our critical minerals and resources sectors and secure their place as a new pillar of our Alliance.

The Prime Minister held discussions with US President Joe Biden about Australia’s role as a source of the processed materials the US will increasingly need for its defence and manufacturing industries, and as it decarbonises its economy.

Australia is a strong friend and ally of the United States. We share a commitment to democracy, freedom, individual freedoms and equality, and to the rule of law.

These talks put WA’s resources sector at the heart of discussions in Washington DC.

We took the opportunity of the state visit to hold our inaugural in-person critical minerals taskforce meeting, before I joined the Prime Minster in talks with President Biden, senior members of his administration, and with business and industry representatives.

We also used the visit to announce the Government would put another $2 billion to critical minerals funding, bringing our total commitment to the sector to almost $6 billion.

Our message is clear and simple: the road to net zero passes through Australia’s resources sector.

Australia is a strong friend and ally of the United States. We share a commitment to democracy, freedom, individual freedoms and equality, and to the rule of law.

We have a solid reputation as a stable and reliable supplier of resources and energy to our trading partners, built over several decades and reinforced by our iron ore and LNG exports from WA.

We have well established supply chains, a highly skilled workforce, and strong and transparent environmental, social and governance standards. We are building our processing sector.

And we welcome and value foreign investment. US investment has helped build WA’s iron ore and gas industries into the global powerhouses they are today.

Critical minerals and resources to support low-emissions technology, are our next great opportunity.

When it comes to building our critical minerals relationship with the US, we have a great head start.

We have an existing bilateral free trade agreement which will continue to deliver opportunities for Australia.

The President plans to ask the US Congress to add Australia as a “domestic source” within the meaning of Title III of the Defense Production Act. Doing so would streamline technological and industrial base collaboration, accelerate and strengthen AUKUS implementation, and build new opportunities for United States investment in the production and purchase of Australian critical minerals, critical technologies, and other strategic sectors.

The US is Australia’s largest foreign investor and two-way trade was worth $87 billion last year.

This is a welcome development, particularly for resources rich WA.

The US visit comes at an important time for the world.

At a time of challenging economic and strategic events, relationships with trusted, like-minded partners are more important than ever.

Building on our relationship with the US will create jobs, strengthen economic security, diversify trade and supply chains, supply the minerals we need for the net zero transformation, and deliver benefits to both of our nations and the world.

Madeleine King is Resources Minister.