Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hinkler for giving me the opportunity to speak about a matter of significance to WA, as we have some of the world's largest reserves of lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, which are indeed critical minerals. The resource sector is a major employer of my constituents. Before I was the member for Swan, I too worked in the sector, for a mineral sands company. I was also born and bred in the Goldfields. In addition, many people who live in Swan want to see meaningful action on climate change. Australia can play a pivotal role, but we need to ensure we get the policy settings right and orientate the industry towards this massive opportunity.

Unfortunately the coalition's Critical Minerals Strategy was inherently flawed. It did not consult with those in industry, and it neglects the fact that batteries and electrification are essential parts of decarbonisation. Expanding our economy and action on climate change can only be solved with a serious strategy, and that's what we've announced. The future is electric: over the last two years, electric car sales have quadrupled globally. The uptake of electric cars is only going one way—and that's up. Following on from this, Australia's minerals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, are indeed in demand. Renewable energy is increasing its share of the national energy market. The Australian Energy Market Operator's 2022 Integrated System Plan will see a step change from about 30 per cent to about 80 per cent renewable electricity generation in 2030. Again, this will be dependent on lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite.

If we think long-term and strategically about how we can capture the future benefits of growth for our nation, we'll see we need a strategy that is informed by experts in the sector and empowers communities, especially First Nations people. You can't just provide a 20-page document, announce money, fail to mention climate change, not commit any funding to appropriations and think that, somehow, you will reap the full benefits of this emerging industry. Our Critical Minerals Strategy will inform our battery strategy, acknowledge its role in addressing climate change and develop synergies between the resources sector and manufacturers.

In my electorate we have a battery pilot plant that is upskilling chemical and process engineers so that we have the know-how for the commercial manufacturing of batteries. Throughout WA we have several critical-minerals processing facilities that would benefit from a clear strategy from government. Collie, a town that is shifting away from coal mining, plans to open a graphite processing plant, which has been announced. Our strategy will work with these stakeholders and will ensure that they have a voice in what our advanced decarbonised economy looks like. This will be supported by our government's National Reconstruction Fund, to which we allocated funding in our October budget. We need to do this right because it will mean jobs, jobs and more jobs. This will secure jobs for regional Australia, jobs that workers can be proud of. This pride is something that I witnessed when I visited Mineral Resources Wodgina lithium project a few weeks ago.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the member for Hinkler's road-to-Damascus moment on batteries. In an interview with Tom Connell on Sky News in 2021 he couldn't give a straight answer on whether batteries for renewable energy would provide dispatchable power. From one engineer to another, I'll give you the technical answer: they do.

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