Anthony Albanese has declared Australia stands at an "extraordinary intersection" in the critical minerals and net zero races, pointing to unprecedented global demand for lithium, cobalt and rare earths, and abundant national supply.
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The Prime Minister spoke of the "chance Australia will only get once" while praising the resources sector for its significant contribution through iron ore, gas and coal to national prosperity, and for powering, building and helping to stabilise relationships with the economies of the region.
The high regard came in a Parliament House dinner speech to the Minerals Council of Australia where he thanked the attending resource giants for their "positive and constructive role" played in the Voice to Parliament debate. "No" proponents have attacked mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto, along with Wesfarmers, for donating millions to the "yes" campaign.
Mr Albanese said the pursuit of net zero will be the great driver of the global economy over the next two decades.
![Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture by Keegan Carroll Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128375134/ce7bb025-70ac-4ccf-b1b1-e14c7960993c.jpg/r0_285_5570_3429_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Lithium. Cobalt. Rare earths. Critical minerals. The building blocks of a clean-energy economy. Essential to every battery, electric vehicle, wind turbine, and solar panel around the world. All of them, found here in Australia," the Prime Minister told the audience.
"We stand at an extraordinary intersection of unprecedented global demand and abundant national supply. And this is a chance Australia will only get once.
"That's why our government is determined to work with you to convert this moment of opportunity into a generation of prosperity."
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The Albanese government last week approved its third coal mine this year with an extension for the Gregory Crinum coking coal mine in Central Queensland's Bowen Basin. There has also been an earlier go-ahead for a coal exploration lease.
Mr Albanese said the government will keep working with the resources sector as it creates more than 1 million "good, secure jobs" and represents over 14 per cent of Australia's GDP, and over two-thirds of Australia's export value.
"While we will not always agree on every aspect of every issue, we do all agree on the overarching objective: a more productive and prosperous Australia," he said.
"I've always had great respect for the vital role your industry plays in our nation."
The Prime Minister will shortly head to Jakarta and New Delhi for major summits, including the G20 leaders' summit where he expects to discuss the future of Australian resources and the push to decarbonise. The next big wave of economic change, which he said, was already under way.
He spoke of Australia not just becoming not just a regional exporter of clean energy but an exporter of energy-intensive products.
"Green steel, green aluminium, green ammonia. There's a global race to make this technology work, safely and efficiently," the Prime Minister said.
"That's the opportunity we have. Not just achieving our climate goals - helping other nations reach theirs."