TRACEY ROBERTS, MEMBER FOR PEARCE: Good morning, everybody. I’ve got the biggest smile on my face, and it’s a great to welcome the Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Anthony Albanese, to Pearce, and the Honourable Minister Madeleine King, the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia. So, it’s just fantastic to be here and so exciting. I would like to invite Ministers to talk about the projects, welcome to the Pearce electorate, and I’ll hand over right now. So, welcome, everybody and thank you for being here.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Tracey. It's great to be back in Western Australia for another visit here talking about the way that WA helps to power our national economy. And this is so exciting, just a week after, about a week, a week and one day after we passed our Future Made in Australia legislation right here, and the announcements we make today is what it's all about. It's about jobs and setting Australia up for the future. About making the most of the resources that we have both under the ground, but also, of course, our solar resources as well. And the plant here I thank very much, the welcome that we've had from Graham here at Australian Vanadium. This is a company which, according to its CEO, has thrived because of the support of the Federal Government. It's creating jobs not just here, but of course at the plant just south, the mine just south of Meekatharra as well. And they have plans for other job creation as well through this company.

I want to say that my Government backs WA and we back the WA resources sector. I want a future made right here in Australia by Australian workers and Australian businesses. And this is an example, the sort of investment in batteries that we see isn't a technology where we're talking about Australia's energy future in the 2040s. This is technology that's here right now. A technology in which Australia has an enormous advantage. We have the third largest vanadium resources in the world, and we have everything, therefore, that can go into a battery that can make sure that during those hours when it's needed, solar energy can be stored from rooftop solar and can feed into the grid here in WA, but can also be a part of the future on the east coast and throughout our great country. But also, of course, has enormous potential for exports and to produce revenue for Australia. The fact is that we talked as well about our production tax incentives, something as well that will reward success here in WA. Last week, that legislation went through the House of Representatives, last Thursday. It will go to the Senate when Parliament returns. And that is about backing Australian jobs and backing Australian industry.

And once again, the Coalition together with the Greens, failed to support the Production Tax Incentives. It's quite extraordinary that the Liberal and National parties continue to oppose jobs and industry and resources here in WA by opposing that legislation that's been developed in partnership and consultation, of course, with industry to make an enormous difference going forward.

I want to say as well that we have a cracker announcement today and that's why we're joined by the Iluka Resources CEO, Tom O'Leary. Today, I can announce that the Government will deliver up to $475 million in additional finance to the Eneabba Rare Earth Refinery Project right here in WA. This project is being delivered by the Australian company Iluka Resources. It will be Australia's first integrated rare earths refinery, supporting 900 jobs during construction and an additional 250 jobs when operational. This is so exciting for WA. This project will unlock processing of Australian deposits of light and heavy rare earths. These have critical applications in defence and renewable energy technologies which Australia relies on for our national as well as our economic security - both of those things. Our funding is contingent on Iluka delivering outcomes that will maximise project benefits for the Australian community in line with our Future Made in Australia Act that was finalised in the House of Representatives and the Senate just last week. We want to see the benefits of this investment opportunity flow to communities, to workers and to businesses right throughout Australia. And this is one of the first and what will be one of the largest announcements as a direct result. This follows on from, Minister King's going to speak about, the $21 million in grants from our government for five Australian critical minerals projects as well today that will create some 400 new jobs. A strong resources sector means a healthy economy. It means good, well paid jobs. It means a future made in Australia. It's how we set ourselves up, and one of the things that we're doing as well is making sure that we have the training to provide the skilled workforce as well. So that's where this fits together with the work that we're doing on cutting HECS debt, on free TAFE places, in making sure that we train people in critical industries. The creation of Jobs and Skills Australia to identify together with the private sector what is the workforce that Australia will need in five, ten, fifteen years’ time. How do we put in place the proper training to make sure that we can achieve those outcomes.

So, I'm very proud to be here today. This is a really practical example of what we're talking about when we say we want a future made here in Australia. It's about continuing to work on the foundations we've laid during this term of Government, building Australia's future, making sure that we take and seize the opportunity which is there from the things that we've been blessed with in this greatest country on earth. If we get this right, if we get the transition to net zero, take up the opportunities which are there in areas like rare earths and critical minerals then we can be even more prosperous in the future. But it will take a government facilitating that private sector investment, which is what this announcement today is about. I'm going to hand to Minister King and then we'll hear from Tom O'Leary.
 
MADELEINE KING, MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA: Thanks very much Prime Minister. And thanks to Australia Vanadium Limited for having us here today. And I really want to thank Tracey Roberts, a really very hardworking member for Pearce. A really strong advocate for her community here in Pearce and also for are great initiatives such as A Future Made in Australia because Tracey knows that it creates real jobs for the hard working people of the electorate of Pearce. So, I want to speak today about a further $21 million the Australian government is investing in critical minerals projects right around the country through the International Partnerships in Critical Minerals Program. So this $21 million announcement today will bring up to $40 million of funding that has gone into critical mineral projects across the country since February of this year. So these projects are spread around the country. $3.8 million for Vecco in Queensland which is a high purity vanadium project. And there's another vanadium project as well also in Queensland in Townsville, the Critical Minerals Group. Just showing how important vanadium will be for future battery making facilities in Australia and to support our grid. Because the kind of batteries you see here today at Australia Vanadium in Wangara are all about supporting our power grid. And they are mature technologies based on Australian technology and know-how. So this is the right kind of project for a Future Made in Australia ambition. In Queensland also a proposed graphite refinery through Graphinex in Townsville, another great regional project in Northern Queensland that we're so very happy to support. And in South Australia, another rare earth project, $5 million for a demonstration plant on South Australia's Limestone Coast by Australian Rare Earths Limited. These are all really important projects. The kind of projects and investment that we hope to make, be the catalyst for another Australian Vanadium Limited, just like you're seeing here today. So, these are important, is important that the Australian Government invests in being the catalyst for great projects just like this one, but also projects like Iluka, which I know Tom's going to talk about in a moment, which sets us up for sovereign capacity in this industry. We need to have governments working, the Federal Government working with the state government, working with the mining industry. And that all comes together, of course, in our Production Tax Credits for Critical Minerals. A $17 billion program that will see this kind of industry, you know, rocket out of this country and into the region. And it's about time the Coalition and the Liberals and Nationals under Peter Dutton had a good hard think about what they're going to do to support the resources sector. At the moment, they are stepping away. They are stepping away from their support of critical minerals and rare earths while this government, the Albanese Labor government, is stepping up to support what will be a national sovereign capability that helps Australians, helps a Future Made in Australia, but really importantly helps our whole region in energy security for the future. With that, I'll hand over to Tom O'Leary from Iluka to say a few words.
 
TOM O'LEARY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED: Thank you, Minister King, and thank you in particular for your support on this really significant project. And thank you, Prime Minister as well for that support. It is a very significant project that Iluka is pursuing here at Eneabba. Significant in many ways for Iluka, but also for Western Australia and Australia I think. In Australia, and particularly Western Australia, we export a lot of minerals. But in terms of value addition and processing minerals, particularly critical minerals, I think we've often fallen well short of our ambition. So, here we're going to be processing minerals all the way through to refined rare earth oxides, which will then be used in magnets for electric vehicles, for defence applications, as the Prime Minister said, and many others - renewable energy, robotics, the list goes on. So, a tremendously significant project that we're embarking on and it's an example of, I think, where our own commercial objectives as Iluka has been aligned with the policy objectives of the Australian Government to deliver a really extraordinary outcome. So, once again, thank you for your support, Minister King and Prime Minister, and we look forward to delivering on a very exciting objective. Thank you.
 
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much. We'll take questions on this first, see if there are any.
 
JOURNALIST: On Iluka, today's announcement, that brings the Government support up to $1.7 trillion or so. Why are taxpayers giving so much cash into a project like this?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well this is an investment. It's an investment in Australia's future. One of the things that we're seeing happen around the world is that in areas like rare earths and critical minerals, there's first mover advantage. We want to unashamedly get Australia moving down the track of what industries will look like in one, two, three decades and make sure that we set Australia up. But I might ask Madeleine, the Minister, to comment as well.
 
MINISTER KING: Thank you. This is a really significant investment by the Australian Government, but of course, that means an investment of the Australian people and the Australian taxpayer. And that's why furthering this investment has taken, I think Tom would agree, a lot of hard work, a lot of deep discussion and investigation around the project. But at its heart, what is really hard to underestimate is the strategic significance of the Eneabba Rare Earth Stockpile and the refinery that Iluka are constructing near to that. Making use of existing infrastructure, and the Iluka Rare Earth Refinery will be one of a ribbon of rare earths refineries going right across the continent that together will work to lessen Australia's reliance on a single supply chain, but also will decrease the reliance of others. So, we go from Iluka in Eneabba to Lynas Rare Earths in Kalgoorlie, across to Arafura in Alice Springs and then to Australian Strategic Materials in Dubbo - all of which have had a significant government investment because it is really important to our national sovereign capability in being able to mine and refine rare earths in this country for our benefit and for that of our trading partners.
 
JOURNALIST: The price of some of these minerals isn’t ideal, projects have blown out now several times. What would you say to taxpayers questioning why is this just pouring money into an (inaudible).
 
MINISTER KING: The whole value chain of critical minerals and rare earths right around the world is highly disrupted. It faces opaque international markets where pricing is almost impossible to establish in any normal fair market. So that is why government does have to participate in this particular emerging sector of our economy. And we're not the only government doing this. These projects and the international projects I mentioned earlier have investment from the United States Export Import Bank, the Republic of Korea's Export Import Bank, the credit agencies of Japan and also Canada, and also the United Kingdom. Germany and France both now have, their governments have critical minerals funds. We are doing this as countries that work together to make sure we can secure supply chains. But really importantly for Australian taxpayers, and there has to be a value for money component of this, and there is, but it is in the long term, there's no doubt about it. That is about shoring up our national sovereignty. And all of this also creates jobs right now. There are jobs happening right now in Eneabba as there are in the projects I've mentioned as well. And those jobs will be jobs for the future which in return obviously taxpayers, their taxes back into the economy. But at the heart of it is the geostrategic issue of wanting to have an alternative supply chain. These are loans, every government that has offered them before and our Government is exactly the same, we expect them to be repaid and that is part of the conditions of them.
 
JOURNALIST: The funding gives the Government the capacity to oppose off-take deals. Should China see this as a sign they won't be receiving any material from this plant?
 
MINISTER KING: We will go through the off-take agreements as a matter of that commercial decision making with Export Finance Australia and Iluka. What this is about is competing. China at the moment does dominate the rare earths refining processes of the world and Australia needs to compete, we want to compete. It's right for us to seek to compete. That's just a natural way of the world. And for industries and companies like Iluka, but also Arafura and ASM and Lynas, we want to help them to do that and we will.
 
JOURNALIST: The Opposition has been critical of the Community Benefits Principle in the legislation for Production Tax Credits. Does it mean that the unions will be able to hold critical minerals projects hostage?
 
MINISTER KING: Absolutely not. The Opposition has been critical of the Production Tax Credit incentive. Really because they want to grab that $17 billion to pay for, you know, an uncosted, unknown nuclear power policy. We all know that. To try and coat that in something around Community Benefits Principles being a bad thing is absolutely absurd.
 
JOURNALIST: Does it risk adding or renewing those Chinese trade tensions though if Australia's steering this project away from China?
 
MINISTER KING: I think we need to be clear and people need to understand that China's ahead of the game. They've invested in critical minerals and rare earths and solar panels and green technologies for 30 years. I take my hat off to that, to that investment. So, we need to step up and make sure we're competing as well. We have the geology, maybe we haven't been as proactive we should have been in the past. But now the chance is here, we are going to build things in Australia, we're going to have a Future Made in Australia and that's the right thing to do. It's just about international competition.
 
PRIME MINISTER: On a couple of those points. Firstly, on the Opposition to this legislation. When we had the vote in the Parliament on Thursday, they voted against the second reading, they voted against the whole thing. They didn't want a bar of it and they haven't put forward any legitimate suggestions for improving the legislation. They've just been against it. And one of the things that's driven me and driven our Government is the experience that we had during the pandemic. The pandemic exposed, not just for Australia, but exposed other countries as well, the vulnerabilities that were there with a trade shock, be it another pandemic or other issues that might occur. And that's why economies are looking around the world – in the United States, with the Inflation Reduction Act, the support that is being provided in the Republic of Korea, Japan, the European Union – economies are looking at how they can be more resilient. And that is what this is about. So, this isn't about any other country. This is about our country and our country being able to support our economic security, but also our national security, not be vulnerable to supply chain shocks. We can't continue to be at the end of supply chains because of where we are located in the world. That can be a disadvantage, but it can be a massive advantage as well. If we develop industries, we have the fastest growing region of the world in human history just to our north. A massive explosion in those economies that are growing at rapid rates, be they India, the ASEAN nations, China, North Asia. That represents an opportunity for Australia and it's one we're determined to seize.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the attack on the synagogue in Melbourne, do you have any indication who was responsible and what the motive was?
 
PRIME MINISTER: No, can I just say that this was a shocking incident. It should be unequivocally condemned. There is no place in Australia for an outrage such as this. To attack a place of worship is an attack on Australian values. To attack a synagogue is an act of antisemitism, is attacking the right that all Australians should have to practice their faith in peace and security. I spoke with the President of the synagogue personally this morning and this is a community where he told me, as has the local Member of Parliament, Josh Burns, they engage in peaceful activity, they provide support for each other. This is the heartland of the community. And the Police, of course, Victoria Police are leading the investigation. We know that two people were seen spreading some sort of fluid to encourage a fire and spreading it with brooms. And they were seen – there's CCTV footage that will be examined. The Police will do their job and I've spoken with the head of the AFP and all resources that are requested from the AFP and from federal agencies will be available because it's important that these people be held to account for what is a shocking crime rate.
 
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, this is the next in a long line of increasingly aggressive antisemitic events across Australia. Is there anything you think you could have done earlier to address this rising tide of antisemitism?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, antisemitism is something that has been around for a long period of time, of course, but antisemitism has been on the rise. We call it out wherever we see it. We work – we've appointed, and I spoke with Jillian Segal, our Antisemitism Envoy this morning as well. We've taken action of providing increased support and security funding for Jewish organisations. We have introduced a landmark ban on the Nazi salute and hate symbols which came into effect on January 2024. We've got legislation to have Australia's first National Student Ombudsman to deal with those issues. And last week in Parliament, we carried through the Senate, on Thursday, legislation to criminalise doxing. Now, that was opposed by the Coalition. I'm not quite sure why that was the case, but that was a part of our privacy legislation. In the weeks following the October 7 attacks, we committed $25 million for improved safety and security at Jewish sites across the country. There is legislation now before Parliament to criminalise hate speech, including the urging or threatening of force or violence against individuals or groups because of who they are or what they believe. We will continue to be vigilant on this issue. 
 
JOURNALIST: Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says you are inviting terrorism and antisemitism by voting in favour of Israel withdrawing from Occupied Territories. Is he right?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, 157 countries voted for that resolution, including the Five Eyes partners, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand as well as Australia, as well as people we work closely with – Germany, Italy, other countries in our region. And it's exactly the same way that that the Howard Government voted for a long period of time.

 JOURNALIST: Sculptures by the Sea (inaudible). Do you see any of the funding contingent on the event happening next year or are you happy for it to roll over to the following year?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we'll provide – the funding will be available immediately. We would like it to go ahead next. I've gone down there and had a look at Sculptures by the Sea here, in Cottesloe. There's one – a similar event takes place in Sydney and it's magnificent. It's free, it uses the wonderful landscape which is there. It's a great spot there at Cottesloe and I think it's unfortunate if it doesn't go ahead next year, but the funding will be available. I think – I went to the Mandurah Giants just a couple of months ago as well. I think that's a permanent exhibition here. It's fantastic to use our open space for public use. And I was more than keen when I heard about the issue to make sure that the funding was available. And I'm pleased that the organisers have welcomed that funding.
 
JOURNALIST: The organisers have to cancel it every couple of years and miraculously manage to get more money out of either corporate donors or the government. So, have they sort of embarrassed you into coming to the table and putting taxpayers’ money towards this?
 
PRIME MINISTER: No, it's a great event. It's a great event that brings people to – it's not just an artistic event, but part of the rationale for the government funding is that it brings tourism here to Perth and WA, not just from other parts of Australia, but it is a global event that has global recognition as well.
 
JOURNALIST: There is concern from Five Eyes partners today about a rise in radicalisation of young people. What’s your response to the report?
 
PRIME MINISTER: We are one of the Five Eyes nations and it is of concern that Australia's agencies tell us that up to 20 per cent of the concerns that are raised for people being radicalised and potentially engaged in harmful activity are very young people, some as young as 12. So, this is of concern. It is one of the issues – the radicalisation of youth – that a lot of outreach occurs with community leaders, faith leaders and others. Parents need to be vigilant about these issues as well. The problem with radicalisation online is often it can't be seen by definition. It can happen in privacy with someone on a computer screen and we have seen, tragically, the impact of that, not just here in Australia, but around the world. So, the agencies have chosen to make this announcement today so as to encourage a vigilance when it comes to these issues, because radicalisation online is an issue. It is one of the things when we've had the debate about social media recently and about young people having access to it, part of the concern that parents have is not knowing what their sons and daughters are engaged in online. And part of the motivation for the social media ban that was carried is about giving parents more power to have those conversations with their young ones about what is going on online.
 
JOURNALIST: Jillian Segal says that the attack on the synagogue threatens democracy. Do you think that antisemitism is a bigger problem than you previously anticipated?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Antisemitism is a major issue. That's why we appointed Jillian Segal as the Antisemitism Envoy. Something that no Government has had in the past. We took that action. I think she was a very good appointment. I'm meeting with her again next week. That appointment was made before the incident overnight. And it is a major issue. And one of the things about Australia is that we are a great multicultural nation. I often, when I'm at citizenship ceremonies, speak about how we can be a microcosm for the world where people of different faiths, different ethnicities, different backgrounds can live together in harmony. And incidents like this disrupt that. It's an attack on the harmony that we have in Australia, which overwhelmingly people participate in. You know, I was at an Antiochian Orthodox Church service last night in Punchbowl. A community, a small community that is tight-knit, but celebrating and participating in their faith. It should be the case here in Australia that everyone is able to go about their activities free from fear. And clearly, an incident like this is aimed at producing fear in the community and that's why the whole community has to respond.
 
JOURNALIST: So, would you characterise it as a terrorist attack?
 
PRIME MINISTER: There are definitions and the agencies examine those issues and certainly the Joint Counter Terrorism Task Force will be looking at this. It is early times and I've just spent five hours on a plane coming across from coast to coast here. So, I'll receive another briefing this afternoon. Victoria Police need to be able to do their job and so should the other agencies do their job.
 
JOURNALIST: Will you be putting in a call to Netanyahu in light of his comments about Australia?
 
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he hasn't made comments. I note there's comments from an office. I engage with leaders on a regular basis.
 
JOURNALIST: A WA state election is due on March 8. Will you rule out a Federal election on March 1, 8 and 15 so the WAEC can get on with things and know that the election is not going to be those dates?
 
PRIME MINISTER: The WA Electoral Commission can get on with things. It's up to them to do their job. Having an election – I do note there was a bit of kerfuffle about all this. I don't know what it was about. Neither does my friend Roger Cook. You know, I'm looking forward to helping Roger Cook out and to see him get re-elected as Premier because I think he's done a great job. And the seamless transition that's occurred from Mark McGowan to Roger Cook has been terrific. We have a constructive relationship. One of the last times I was here, we signed the Education Agreement for increased public schools funding. I'll be seeing Roger on at least two occasions over the next three days. I'm here till Sunday and we'll catch up again, no doubt. Thanks very much. Thank you.