I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land we are meeting on here in Perth, the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present.

I extend that respect to First Nations peoples present.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today about our regions and rural communities – their relevance, importance, and their great potential.

Thank you to The Australian’s Editor in Chief Michelle Gunn for the invitation and for driving these important series of conferences. We are meeting today in Perth, and I look forward to when this important Bush Summit is able to go out to the remarkable regions of WA – perhaps in the future we might get to meet in Kalgoorlie, Karratha or Kununurra.  

Greetings to all the speakers today. And there are so many great speakers my apologies if don’t recognise you all. 

I acknowledge Western Australian Government Minister for Regional Development Don Punch who will be speaking later, APPEA CEO Samantha McCulloch, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies CEO Warren Pearce and Chamber of Minerals and Energy CEO Rebecca Tomkinson. 

I also acknowledge Hancock Prospecting Executive Chair Gina Rinehart who will address you soon. 

And I note at the end of the day you have Adam Gilchrist speaking. I’m a big cricket fan and of the greatest wicket keeper/batsman of all time and I’m very sorry I will not be here for that. If it comes up – for what it is worth – of course Bairstow was out! Rules are rules. Especially in cricket.

But before cricket (and such a time does exist) and for more than 40,000 years before European Settlement, across the nation – when it was all what we might call ‘the bush’ today, Indigenous Australians mined ochre – for religious and art purposes; and stone – for tools to make life easier and productive. 

Over the vast distances of this nation continent, trade occurred between different language groups and regions. Aboriginal people navigated their way across the lands and seas of Australia using paths known as ‘songlines’ or ‘dreaming tracks’. 

Before European settlement First Australians made the most of all the bush has to offer. Aboriginal people were Australia’s original mappers, miners and navigators. 

After European settlement, Australians looked inland in search of grazing and farmlands – and for minerals.

They found these in abundance.

Our natural resources were the basis for an extraordinary period of national growth and development in the mid to late Nineteenth century.

Per capita incomes in Australia at that time were 40% above those in the United States.

Our standard of living has remained high ever since.

We have the hard work and ingenuity of our rural and regional communities to thank for that.

Many of our regional cities and towns only exist thanks to mining. Bendigo, Mount Isa, Kalgoorlie and Karratha all owe their existence thanks to mining and resources.  

Like many Western Australians, my family has its roots in the bush. My grandmother, Peggie Pizer, was born in Coolgardie and grew up in the goldfields. She one of the daughters of one of the many Victorians that headed West to chase the gold rush. Those Vics chased gold and delivered WA to the Federation. Some may say they have a lot to answer for! 

As we’ve become a more urbanised nation, our engagement with, and appreciation of, the bush has diminished.

Over 86 per cent of us now live in the big capital cities.

Most of Australia’s jobs and economic opportunities have gravitated to the suburbs and inner cities – in contrast to decades past.

This has not only depleted the bush of its young people but set many small towns on a slow path to decline.

It’s also led to some losing sight of what the bush represents and its central role in Australia’s future.

It has, I think, led to many Australians in urban areas losing sight of  where much of the nation’s prosperity, food and energy comes from. We need to change this. 

Fortunately, we’re now seeing a reset in favour of the regions. People are continuing to flock to the bush – drawn to amenity, its liveability, its comparatively affordable housing, and in Western Australia, by good jobs with big salaries and bright futures. 

Go West Young Man was the catchcry of 1800s America as settlers struck out in search of their fortune. 

And today, we can continue to say Go West! But also … Go North! 

Our north west, and indeed all of our north holds enormous opportunity.

Catch a flight to Perth from Brisbane or Adelaide most days and you will likely be seated alongside workers in hi-vis on their way through to a swing on a resources site in northern WA. A new generation of Australians bound for regional WA to seek their fortune and to build themselves and their families a better life. 

In my view, every east coast-based parliamentarian and journalist should experience Perth airport on any given Monday or Tuesday at five in the morning to witness the extraordinary airlift of workers into the north that occurs week in week out to ensure our nation’s continued prosperity off the back of our remarkable geology and the efforts of resources industry.

Northern Australia development, NAIF, White Paper refresh

Growing a stronger more successful nation doesn’t begin and end at our cities.

It also means supporting our regions and regional towns to be strong, vibrant, and economically diversified.

As Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, I’m committed to unlocking the bush’s full potential and furthering the multigenerational effort of developing the regions to our north – many of which suffer from the twin tyrannies of distance and disadvantage.

Australians in rural and remote areas have a right to the same basic services on offer to those of us in the cities.

Investing in Northern Australia’s economy will boost migration to these areas.

It will enable the provision of services and economic opportunities for country people that city dwellers take for granted.

It will help accelerate development of the north’s abundant mineral and energy resources – which will be key to our goal of reaching net zero emissions.

The refreshed Developing Northern Australia White Paper will deliver a prioritised Action Plan to refocus delivery and re-inject urgency in the economic and social development of Northern Australia.

More intense weather events, for example, require greater investment in disaster resilience and risk reduction.

The recent flooding and destruction of transport infrastructure in the Kimberley brought this into sharp focus.

At the same time, more of Northern Australia’s critical minerals wealth will be needed to drive the global transition to decarbonisation.

Capturing that opportunity must significantly benefit regional communities and industries.

One of the major tools with which we can accelerate economic growth and population across the north is the Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Since 2016, the NAIF has backed 15 resources projects in Northern Australia with a total loan value of over $2 billion, creating over $24 billion in economic benefit.

But we want to build further on those benefits – which is why the Australian Government recently expanded the facility and broadened its investment remit so it will make a real difference to the lives of Northern Australian communities.

Resources, critical minerals, and decarbonisation

Regional and northern Australia is much more than mining, as anyone here at this Summit would know.

But resources are a major component of Northern Australia’s economy – and a huge contributor to our national economy.

In the financial year just ended, our resource and energy export earnings – led by coal, iron ore, gold, aluminium, and gas – are forecast to hit a record $459 billion dollars.

Much of the future growth in the resources sector will be in Northern Australia. 

Australia is a long-established, reliable, and efficient supplier of iron ore, gas, and metallurgical coal.

We are the world’s number one producer of lithium and a top-five producer of cobalt and rare earths. 

All are essential for clean energy technologies. 

The global energy transition now underway presents us with a priceless opening to grow our resources industry, boost our value-adding capabilities and contribute meaningfully to global decarbonisation.

We’re already witnessing new mining boom off the back of unprecedented global demand for our abundant critical minerals, and I note at this year’s Diggers & Dealers there were more critical minerals hopefuls in attendance than gold miners. 

First Nations communities, capacity building

The Albanese Government wants to ensure investments from NAIF, the National Reconstruction Fund, the Critical Minerals Development Program and regionally focussed initiatives create new economic opportunities for the bush.

Opportunities that reach into all regional communities.

We should respect and celebrate the fact that we share this land with the oldest continuous culture on Earth.

It’s why we support the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and why we encourage the private sector to forge genuine partnerships with indigenous communities, as many have.

Now, more than ever, our miners and outback businesses are working closely with First Nations custodians and communities to achieve better outcomes in local recruitment, training, education, and procurement: all are important to achieve social and economic uplift.

Western Australia is a perfect example for the whole nation of how listening to Aboriginal people only makes us better. 

Here in WA, all major projects have long required consultation with traditional owners for approval. Not before time, extensive consultation and agreements with indigenous traditional owners is a standard and important part of doing business when developing a resources project. This has helped make this State the economic powerhouse of the nation. 

So, in that spirit I would also like to thank that long list of resource companies who have come out in strong support of voting yes to the referendum which will recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution through a voice to Parliament.

As the resources sector is the largest employer of First Nations people, it makes sense that it would advocate in the interests of an important part of their workforce.

Only when we share the benefits of economic development equitably can we be said to be a truly progressive and inclusive nation.

Conclusion

Our regions have sustained the nation – they have made us safe, prosperous, and secure.

And the bush will be prominent in word and deed as we grasp new economic opportunities to build a productive, sustainable, and liveable future.

I look forward to working with our state and territory partners to deliver projects and initiatives that grow our regions further.

And which lead to strong interrelationships between regions and cities. 

Thank you.