Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a load of tosh from Senator O'Sullivan! This bill, the Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Bill 2024, is a bill that delivers benefits to Western Australia and Queensland; it is a bill that is supported by the resources industry in Western Australia; and it's a bill that is well designed to improve investment in processing and refining in Australia, adding value to the Australian economy.

Our opponents on this bill have talked around the detail of it and they've talked around the benefits that it brings to Australia, but particularly to Western Australia and particularly to Queensland—and that's understandable, because the details of this bill reveal its merits. The details of the bill reveal its benefits to not only the industry but also the broader community and Australian workers. That's why it is supported by the industry. That's why this government has put this bill forward.

Let me take you through the details very briefly, because it's not as amorphous as they would suggest. The critical minerals production tax incentive in this bill offers a 10 per cent refundable tax credit. It is for specific processing and refining costs. It's for up to 10 years per project for designated critical minerals between the financial years 2027-28 and 2039-40. It supports economic growth and prosperity. It encourages the future of Australian industry. It advances our strategic goals by bringing aspects of our supply chain onshore. It takes advantage of the expertise in the Western Australian and Queensland resources industries. And I do agree with Senator O'Sullivan: those industries are world-class and they are very important to the future of Australia. That is why the government is supporting them. Processing and refining our critical minerals onshore, rather than just exporting raw materials, offers a chance to create more Australian jobs, drive economic growth and support the energy transition.

What are the economic advantages? By incentivising local processing, we're encouraging not only investment in the processing and refining steps of the supply chain but also the competitiveness of Australian mining operations and investment in innovation and technology in this space. The estimate of the value of this incentive to drive critical minerals processing is that it will add up to $17 billion to the Australian economy up to financial year 2039-40. That is to say, these are processes that we're bringing onshore and that Australians will get the direct economic benefit from.

Building sovereign capability in critical minerals processing and refining will create secure, well-paying jobs in the resources sector—and that's something this government is entirely committed to. People in Western Australia and in Queensland should understand that this bill is about driving jobs in our great states. Critical minerals are vital components in solar panels, storage batteries and wind turbines, and the world can't transition to net zero without them. They also play a vital role in defence technology. So this helps our export industry. By building and securing domestic capacity in critical minerals and by value-adding in the supply chain, we can mitigate risks associated with supply chain disruptions while providing the Australian economy—and, most importantly, the Australian people—with economic benefits.

These tax credits have widespread industry support. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, the Minerals Council of Australia and Wesfarmers, among others, have all supported these tax credits. I'll say just briefly, though, because it was referred to, that Ross Lyons, the General Manager of Taxation at the Minerals Council of Australia, has said:

The MCA supports the critical minerals production tax incentive because it is a positive step towards attracting investment in the critical minerals industry.

…   …   …

We support the bill because the bill is going to help to reduce the cost of production for people that develop facilities downstream—

develop processing and refining capacity in Australia.

This is a bill that is supported by industry. It brings real community benefits. The only people who seem to be opposed to it are those opposite. But that's probably to be expected. Short-sighted, negative, unreliable—that's the Liberals under Peter Dutton.