Sabra Lane: Another key bill the Government is friendless on aims to provide billions in tax credits for companies producing critical minerals needed to make high-tech military and health devices as well as batteries for smartphones. Right now, China is the world's leader in processing these minerals. The tax credit's worth more than $7 billion over 10 years and it won't be paid until companies start producing goods and they must be Australian-based. The Federal Resources Minister joined me earlier. Madeleine King, thanks for joining AM. Politics is all about getting the numbers to pass your bills. Right now, this bill for tax credits for critical minerals, the production credits, doesn't have majority support. It's going to be put to Parliament today. What's the point if there's not the numbers there?
Madeleine King: It's a pleasure to be here, Sabra, in the studio too. The point is about putting forward a proposition that this Government has come up with, with industry. Industry, indeed, has led the whole process of developing the production tax incentive. If Peter Dutton and the Coalition choose not to support the resources sector, well, people should know about that because it's all about Australian jobs in the face of the need internationally to secure supply chains. If Peter Dutton and the Coalition want to vote against that, well, I guess we leave it up to them.
Sabra Lane: And it's also the Greens, Independents, it's friendless at the moment. You don't have the numbers to get it through.
Madeleine King: Well, it has many friends in industry and it has many friends among the Australian population who work in the resources sector. It has friends internationally who want to see Australia step up to take on a leadership role in developing its critical minerals and rare earths processing industry. And some of that is already underway. But the important thing about this incentive is that it drives further investment into an emerging industry that does face a lot of challenges from international markets. So people, whether it be the Greens, the Independents, but particularly the Coalition, who really should know better, need to step up and get on board and support it.
Sabra Lane: Their argument so far has been that this is giving billions or welfare for billionaires. Industry groups have come out today saying that it should pass. Are you a bit disappointed that they haven't been out there earlier advocating really loudly and pressuring? If you say that this is really good policy, why aren't they pressuring the Coalition to pass it?
Madeleine King: Well, Sabra, they actually have been. And we developed this a year ago. We worked on it really in quite a lot of detail with industry through AMEC and others to make sure it had a sound policy base and did have the support of industry. And they have been advocating. No one should be under any illusion that industry supports for and indeed has called for a production tax incentive. So what this means if the Liberals and the Nationals continue on their obstinate path of opposing it is they will be voting against Western Australia and Queensland, where a lot of these incentives will go, because that is where the critical minerals and rare earths exist within our geology.
Sabra Lane: And is that what this is partly about today? The government is putting this up because you think it will win you voter support in those key resource states like Queensland, Western Australia. Labor won a number of states in Western Australia at the last election that you need to hang on to if you need to, if you want to stay in government. Queensland, you need to win more seats. Do you think voters are going to go, oh yeah, I'll put aside my dissatisfaction about cost of living and I'm going to vote. I think this is a good idea.
Madeleine King: Look, I'm not saying people will singularly focus their vote in the next election around one issue such as the critical minerals production tax incentive. And they will, no doubt, like we all do think about the cost of living pressures on our friends and family and the whole community. And we've done a lot in that regard, of course, with subsidies for energy bills, fee-free TAFE, reducing university debt and a tax cut for every single Australian. So we are addressing that. But these are about future jobs and a future industry that will be integral to not only getting our country to net zero, but the rest of the world's net zero, but also for national security, because we know rare earths play an integral role in defence applications. So, you know, this is really important and it's really important to the world. So I have travelled a lot during this term, speaking with international partners, because Australia's resources sector does need international investment and always has. And they are investing money and we need to invest as well. So it is an opportunity for the Coalition to have a good think about their rash decision on Budget Night to stand against production tax credits without reading it thoroughly and do the right thing and support the emerging resources industry in this country.
Sabra Lane: This could be the final week of Parliament for the year and for the term full stop. There's talk of an election early next year and Parliament not coming back. There are other bills that are stuck in Parliament, housing, other issues. Won't voters blame the government for that? They tend to blame government and not the whole Parliament.
Madeleine King: Well, you know, I do understand that people don't, not everyone in the country tunes into question time or other parts of Parliament. Perhaps a good thing that they don't. Yeah, I get that. But it is important that Australians understand what the Government is endeavouring to do and has been working really hard at and that the housing bills are a great example of great policy that will help people to buy homes. It's exactly what we want to happen and everyone agrees that needs to happen. But you have populist vote grabbing parties like the Greens and the Coalition that are blocking it just to attract their own voter base. We're trying to do the right thing for the Australian community, whereas they just want to block this to be able to put out another TikTok. And it's kind of disgraceful. Well, it's not kind of, it's absolutely disgraceful because it's run counter to the national interest. So I hope they get on board and maybe as it's closer to Christmas, they'll think about the right thing to do.
Sabra Lane: Madeleine King, thanks for talking to AM.
Madeleine King: Thanks, Sabra.
Sabra Lane: Madeleine King is the Federal Resources Minister.
