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As part of our plan for a stronger future, the Coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to support the growth of Australia’s critical minerals sector, announcing a package of measures to help unlock the industry’s significant potential.

The measures, which are part of the 2022-23 Budget, include a $200 million Accelerator grants program, $50 million to support research and development and an updated industry strategy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s resources companies were leading the world in developing new critical minerals markets.

“The world is becoming a more uncertain place and we want to secure Australia as a reliable partner for local and global businesses that need the critical minerals we have right here,” the Prime Minister said.

“We’ll dig them up right here. We’ll refine them right here. We’ll look to make the products that use them right here.

“These suite of initiatives are about backing our home grown resources industry just like Liberals and Nationals always have.

“As the global economy changes, there are exciting new growth opportunities emerging in areas such as rare earths and critical minerals that ultimately mean we can deliver a stronger economy for Australia and secure a stronger future.

“Critical minerals are used in more and more essential products. That means there are huge opportunities to backing the Australian critical minerals with programs like these, to be a partner whose products are high quality and consistent. A partner people can trust to deliver.”

Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said the Accelerator initiative will provide grants to strategically significant critical minerals projects at the early to mid-stage to fast-track them to market.

“By backing these important projects, we are also driving private sector investment to enhance Australia’s strong international reputation as a reliable supplier of the resources the world needs,” Minister Pitt said.

Minister Pitt said the 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy, launched today, sets out to grow our critical minerals sector, expand downstream processing and help meet future global demand.

“The Strategy will cement Australia’s position as a leading producer of critical minerals, while contributing to our national security and economic prosperity,” Minister Pitt said.

“Developing and diversifying our resources sector strengthens our national economy, delivering jobs and growth opportunities, especially in regional Australia.

“While the Greens openly talk about partnering with Labor to destroy Australia’s resources sector, the Government strongly supports the industry and today’s announcement builds on our strong record of delivery.

“A strong economy means a strong future for Australia, and resources are a significant contributor to that.

“Our resources and energy exports hit a record high value of $348.9 billion, and are projected to hit $379 billion in 2021-22.

“Australia is blessed with extraordinary reserves of the critical minerals needed by sectors including defence, aerospace, automotive, energy, telecommunications and agritech.

“We produce around half the world’s lithium and we are the second-largest producer of cobalt and the fourth-largest producer of rare earths.

“We have the potential to do so much more and we are taking action to grow Australia into a critical minerals powerhouse.”

Minister Pitt said Australia’s large critical minerals reserves, our technical expertise and track record as a reliable and responsible supplier, enable the sector to respond to increasing global market demand.

“We can also expand into downstream processing and embed Australia in global supply for technology ranging from mobile phones to fighter jets,” Minister Pitt said.

Minister Pitt said the Government has also committed $50 million over three years to establish the virtual National Critical Minerals Research and Development Centre, which will draw together expertise from CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.

“This Centre will build Australian capability in critical minerals processing, target technical bottlenecks in strategic supply chains, and drive breakthrough collaborative research,” Minister Pitt said.

“The Centre’s projects will help unlock new sources of economically viable critical minerals, and diversify supply chains of strategic interest to Australia and our allies.”

The 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy is available on the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources website.

A new critical minerals mine and processing plant in Kalgoorlie will be given Major Project Status in a move by the Morrison Government to streamline approvals and coordination and bring thousands of jobs to the Eastern Goldfields region.

The $1.165 billion Kalgoorlie Nickel Project will produce cobalt-nickel ore which will undergo a process to produce Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate, which is used as raw material in the growing international battery market.

Projects awarded Major Project Status have access to extra support from the Major Projects Facilitation Agency, including having a single-entry point for Australian Government approvals, project support and coordination.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said declaring Major Project Status would bring the operation to life sooner.

“With 1,500 jobs each year for the three-year construction and 500 jobs a year for the 25-year operation, this Project is a major project and will get every support possible from my Government,” the Prime Minister said.

“It’s projects like this that help build a stronger economy and secure a stronger future for the region and for WA.

“With the project in its early phases now, declaring it a Major Project will get more tradies on site, and more workers into town sooner.”

Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the Morrison Government was backing local industries which were investing in and supporting technologies to help Australia and the rest of the world meet emissions reduction targets.

“This proposed facility has huge potential to contribute to the growing international demand for lithium-ion battery minerals that will underpin a range of emerging clean energy applications, including electric vehicles and everyday items such as smart phones and laptops,” Minister Taylor said.

“Unlike Labor, the Morrison Government is supporting a balanced approach to driving down emissions that will generate new jobs and not tear them down, all the while keeping power prices low for households and businesses.

“The Morrison Government recognises the enormous economic growth and job opportunities these projects provide for regional Australia. We have now granted Major Project Status to 12 significant critical minerals projects across Australia which will inject more than $8.7 billion into our economy and support over 7,500 construction jobs and over 3,800 ongoing.”

Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said granting Major Project Status for the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project was another step forward for Australia playing a major role in the global critical minerals market, which is expected to grow exponentially over the coming decades.

“This project directly contributes to our Critical Minerals Strategy by increasing the supply of highly sought-after materials for the lithium-ion battery supply chain and has the potential to boost Australia’s sovereign capability,” Minister Pitt said.

Federal Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson said he welcomed significant projects like the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project that bring jobs and investment to the Goldfields region.

“Providing support to this project will help boost Australia’s position in the global critical minerals processing industry and add to regional WA’s reputation as a major contributor to the nation’s booming resource sector,” Mr Wilson said.

Today’s commitment follows a $119.6 million investment by the Morrison Government this week to build an integrated Nickel Manganese Cobalt battery material refinery hub in the Kalgoorlie region – the first facility of its kind anywhere in Australia.

Major Project Status still requires the project to meet all relevant Commonwealth and State regulatory approval processes.

More information on the Major Projects Facilitation Agency and the full list of current major projects is available on the Major Projects Facilitation Agency website.

More nurses and allied health workers will be trained in WA’s South West and Goldfields regions as part of a $36 million push from the Morrison Government to boost local health workforces through new University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH).

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new additions would encourage more graduating health professionals to practice in the South West and Goldfields regions.

“University Departments of Rural Health boost the rural primary care workforce, improve health outcomes in rural and regional communities, and give students a taste of what it’s like to work in the bush,” the Prime Minister said.

“I welcome Edith Cowan University as a partner to the Program, as the 22nd university to provide increased rural and remote training across Australia under the program.”

Curtin University will build on its existing medical training presence in the Goldfields region, establishing a UDRH for nursing and allied health training to complement its rural clinical school.

Today’s announcement builds on the recent Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program expansion, which included ongoing funding for a new UDRH to be located in Emerald in Central Queensland.

A former regional doctor, Minister for Regional Health Dr David Gillespie said the RHMT program was a key part of the Government’s commitment to addressing health workforce shortages outside the cities.

“We know from an independent evaluation that the RHMT program supports universities to deliver teaching and training to an equivalent, or higher, standard than that of metropolitan settings,” Dr Gillespie said.

“We also know that health professionals who graduate from rural placements are more likely to stay in the bush, where they are sorely needed, because they appreciate the professional and personal benefits of working in those communities.”

Member for Forrest Nola Marino and Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson welcomed the two new UDRHs.

“This is a very important initiative that will help address health workforce shortages in the South West – the fastest growing region in WA,” Mrs Marino said.

“Access to health care is a huge issue across the Goldfields so this commitment is a game changer for our region which I have been fighting hard for,” Mr Wilson said.

“A UDRH based in Kalgoorlie means we can grow our own workforce and create more local jobs in health.

“It is fantastic that Curtin University with local partners will deliver the program out of the School of Mines and I thank them all for their commitment to make this happen.”

The 2020 RHMT evaluation also found the program has direct economic and other benefits for regional and rural communities.

The new UDRHs will focus training activities in Modified Monash (MM) 3 to 7, or large rural towns to very remote communities, and strengthen the ongoing participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations in activities across the RHMT program.

The Prime Minister said the new UDRHs would have a real impact on health workforce numbers in the regions.

“The program extension we’ve announced today will result in 3,000 additional placement weeks per year at full implementation – that’s up to 500 more students gaining rural clinical experience in Western Australia,” the Prime Minister said.

In 2020, more than 14,200 nursing and allied health rural placements were delivered across Australia, equating to over 65,000 placement weeks.

This initiative expands the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training program, which will now support 22 universities, forming a national network of 19 Rural Clinical Schools, 19 UDRHs and 26 Regional Training Hubs.

The Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments will provide $742 million to further support primary industry, businesses, rural landholders, councils and residents affected by the catastrophic flooding event across New South Wales, as part of the next round of support.

This is in addition to the almost $1 billion in emergency response and relief already provided through joint funding packages between the Commonwealth and NSW Governments. Direct Commonwealth disaster relief payments are in addition to these packages.

The fourth phase of support for jointly 50/50 funded programs includes:

• $100 million for a Small and Medium-sized Businesses Package in the seven highly-impacted local government areas (LGAs) of Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, the Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Tweed through two packages:
  • Support for medium-sized (21-199 full time employees) businesses ($20 million), with grants up to $200,000 available to assist with clean-up, essential repairs and replacement that are not covered by existing insurance.
  • Support for eligible small businesses that have suffered a 40 per cent or more downturn in their income ($80 million), with grants of up to $10,000 to help meet their operating costs so they can survive during the period in which the local economy is depressed.
• $35 million for Rural Landholder Grants of up to $25,000, for impacted landholders state-wide, who are not eligible under existing support mechanisms, including insurance or special disaster assistance, and are able to demonstrate losses and damage beyond the vicinity of the residential dwelling.
  • The Rural Landholder Grant can be used for clean-up activities, damages or losses that are beyond the vicinity of the residential dwelling. This includes the removal of debris and deceased livestock, maintenance of livestock health, and repairing or replacing fencing.
• $150 million for the primary industry sector targeted at assisting primary producers to protect supply chains, and boost recovery and rebuilding efforts.
  • This includes funding for Critical Producer Grants providing rapid support for significantly impacted primary producers (in addition to existing mechanisms) for recovery and rebuild, and funding for Primary Industry Recovery and Resilience to provide targeted grants for medium to longer-term projects that support supply chain efficiencies and recovery and rebuilding efforts.
• $142 million to provide assessment of properties and the demolition of those found to be uninhabitable across disaster-declared LGAs.
• An extension of the Recovery Grants currently available for primary producers, small businesses and councils in further disaster-declared LGAs.

The Commonwealth Government will also solely provide the following assistance in the Northern Rivers as part of the fourth phase package:

• Up to $50 million for large businesses and major employers in key industries to provide immediate financial assistance in the Northern Rivers.
  • This package will provide funding to help the recovery of big businesses that are major employers in the region.

In addition, direct Commonwealth financial support through the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and the Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) for the disaster-declared seven LGAs in New South Wales, including extra payments of up to $2,000 for residents of Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Tweed LGAs.

• As at 17 March 2022, $653 million has been paid directly to support 596,000 individuals in New South Wales through these Commonwealth Government payments.

The New South Wales Government will also provide the following:

• $120 million Local Council Support Package, including:
  • $40 million to provide grants to councils to address urgent and immediate operational challenges.
  • $80 million to establish a working capital fund to supplement councils with flood and disaster recovery where residents are unable to pay their rates.
• $145 million for the urgent repair and replacement of water and sewerage critical infrastructure capacity in the Northern Rivers disaster-declared LGAs.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Federal Government was following through on continuing to support the entire Northern New South Wales community as they continue to recover.

“We will continue to support thousands of residents and businesses in Northern New South Wales, by giving them the support they need to get back on their feet,” the Prime Minister said.

“This support package gets money in the hands of our small and medium-sized businesses and our farmers so they can rebuild and support the whole community to recover together.

“To date, my Government has provided New South Wales with $1.7 billion in direct funding to help communities rebuild and we will continue to back in those businesses and residents that need support.”

Acting New South Wales Premier Paul Toole said our regional communities are resilient, but they need the right support to rebuild and bounce back stronger than ever, and they need that support now.

“These regional communities provide vital resources for a huge part of the NSW population, so it’s critical money lands in the hands of local residents, our farmers, and business owners impacted by the floods to help keep the engine room of our state moving,” Mr Toole said.

“This latest package will provide valuable support to the hardest-hit communities of Ballina, Byron, Lismore, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Tweed Shire, and Clarence Valley.”

Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience Bridget McKenzie said that this new support package for NSW will assist businesses in flood-affected communities to get back on their feet.

“The floods have had a devastating impact on our communities in Northern NSW, causing enormous upheaval to lives and livelihoods. This new package will support businesses and communities to repair the damage, stimulate local economies, and help communities to move forward,” Minister McKenzie said.

New South Wales Treasurer Matt Kean said the Government was committed to providing support to the many families, businesses and communities that have been so severely affected by these terrible floods.

“Many of these communities have been hit by a full spectrum of disasters these past two years. Now as the clean-up continues in earnest, this package will deliver support for their immediate recovery,” Mr Kean said.

New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the seven most heavily impacted areas of Lismore, Richmond Valley, Tweed, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle and Clarence Valley would receive $150 million worth of funding support to assist businesses and employers within the Northern Rivers region get back to work.

“This commitment includes $100 million for small-to-medium sized businesses and not-for-profit organisations,” Ms Cooke said.

“With the clean-up continuing in earnest, we are also pleased to extend the Clean Up and Recovery Grants to the additional 13 disaster-declared Local Government Areas (LGAs).”

This latest package for NSW focuses on support for businesses impacted by the flooding and is jointly funded through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

There are now 58 LGAs in NSW eligible for assistance under the DRFA. This includes the additional LGA of Port Stephens.

People in NSW requiring disaster recovery support are urged to contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 or nsw.gov.au/floods.

De Costi Seafood, a subsidiary of Tassal, will likely have to pay its workers more than a million dollars in backpay, after the Australian Workers’ Union won its case against the seafood giant in the Federal Court today. The AWU has brought a claim against Tassal on behalf of two members whose shifts started before 6am but were not paid penalty rates. De Costi Seafood argued that employees working before 6amwere not entitled to any payments for early starts. The union believes about 50 current workers — and hundreds of former ­employees — have been underpaid more than a million dollars over the past six years. AWU NSW Branch Secretary Tony Callinan said the win was a massive one for the workers and for the union. “This is a huge win for our members and proves once again that if workers join their union they can take on the boss and win big,” Mr Callinan said. “Hundreds of De Costi workers had been short-changed by their employer for years. Well now that money’s coming back to where it belongs. “This case took years and enormous effort and I’m so proud of everyone involved. “If you get up in the middle of the night to work your shift in this country you deserve to be fairly compensated for that effort. That’s a principle Australians holds dear and we’ve proven today it’s one that still applies. “These women and men worked bloody hard doing tough jobs to put food on Australian tables. But without their union they would have been forced to donate over a million dollars of their hard earned to their employer. “Tassal was certain it had found a technicality that would allow it to avoid paying penalty rates. We’ve fought that and we’ve won.”

Together with its customers, Coles has raised more than $1.8 million for the Australian Red Cross QLD and NSW Flood Appeal to provide immediate and long-term support to communities affected by severe flooding. 

As flood waters subsided and affected residents began the enormous task of cleaning up, Coles donated and delivered a truckload of cleaning and cooking equipment to the Lismore community this week.

In total, Coles has now donated and delivered well over 100 pallets of food and essentials to Lismore, North Richmond and the Northern Rivers region in the past 10 days to urgently get supplies in the hands of impacted locals.

In just two weeks, Coles customers donated $560,257 which was matched dollar for dollar by Coles Group for the Australian Red Cross QLD and NSW Flood Appeal. 

Coles then increased its support on the weekend by announcing an additional donation of $700,000 at the Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal on Channel Nine, Seven Network and Network 10, which raised more than $25 million for flood-affected communities. 

Australian Red Cross CEO Kym Pfitzner thanked Coles, its team members and customers for their support.

“The way Coles, its team and customers pulled together to help support people impacted by the devastating floods is an amazing example of what can be achieved in times of crisis,” he said.

“Coles has made an incredible contribution and their support will help Red Cross to provide assistance to the people and communities that are struggling, through our immediate response in relief centres and recovery hubs, through cash assistance and helping us be there for the long term while people recover.”

Coles NSW State General Manager Ivan Slunjski said customers and team members had shown extraordinary generosity in their support for flood-affected communities through the appeal and donations of essentials. 

“The damage caused as a result of the floods has been devastating and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that deliveries to stores continue and donations of supplies are distributed to those who need it most,” he said. 

“We are blown away by the generosity of our customers in helping to raise over $1.8 million for the Red Cross Flood Appeal, and we couldn’t be prouder of our store team members who have been involved in on-the-ground efforts to urgently get supplies into local communities.”

Funds raised for the Australian Red Cross Qld and NSW Floods Appeal will go towards supporting volunteers and staff to assist with evacuations and relief centres, enabling longer term recovery work in flood-affected communities and contributing to the ongoing funding of the cash assistance grants program.

During the past two weeks, Coles and its customers have also provided support to flood-affected communities in the following ways: 

·       Coles team members and customers at Arundel in south-east Queensland donated an estimated $10,000 in food and essentials to impacted communities in Northern NSW, with another delivery of donated supplies arriving this week;

·       At Moonee Beach in NSW, the team has already made four trips to the Lismore evacuation centre in a ute filled with clothes, pet food, cleaning goods and non-perishable goods; 

·       The team at Coles Ballina store has donated breakfast items for the Ballina Richmond Rotary Club breakfast on a daily basis and supplied food for sausage sizzles at the nearby evacuation centres to support flood-affected locals; 

·       A Coles Online van has delivered 16 cartons of fruit daily over the past week and 60 loaves of bread to Lismore each day over a period of two weeks;  

·       Coles stores in the Northern NSW region have rallied to fill two utes with food and essentials donated by customers and team members for delivery to the Lismore region; 

·       Coles team members and customers at The Pines in south-east Queensland have donated an estimated 29 pallets of food and supplies for distribution to impacted communities from Logan down to the Northern Rivers region; 

·       At Coffs Harbour, the team has collected and driven a truckload of donations to West Ballina to be packed into care packs and distributed to rural areas filled with food, clothing, personal hygiene items and bedding; and 

·       The North Richmond Coles store has donated around 1000 loaves of bread to Hawkesbury’s Helping Hands to distribute to flood-affected residents.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue has today released its report titled The Australian Dream: inquiry into housing affordability and supply in Australia.

The report follows a seven-month parliamentary inquiry in which the Committee heard from the Australian Federal Government, state and local governments, industry groups, peak bodies, think tanks, academics, economists, unions, and the general public. In its report, the Committee makes 16 recommendations to improve housing supply and affordability across the country.

Chair of the Committee, Mr Jason Falinski MP said, ‘It should not need to be stated, but home ownership matters. It matters for reasons as diverse as wealth equality, mental health, childhood outcomes and democratic stability. But at the end of our months-long investigation, it does need to be reasserted that our nation was founded to be a classless society in which everyone got a chance to own their own home.’

‘The primary driver of growing house prices is the lack of market response. We need to reform broken planning systems, fix inefficient regulation, and stop new home buyers unfairly bearing the brunt of taxes and charges that are designed to raise funds, not living standards. This report identifies opportunities for all levels of government to unlock more housing supply, create more affordable homes and increase home ownership,’ said Mr Falinski.

Many of these recommendations focus on increasing housing supply. By recommending the Australian Government implement policies which financially incentivise state and local governments to adopt better planning and property administration practices, upwards pressure on supply will be mitigated. Further, incentivising state and local governments to directly tie taxes and levies to actual and meaningful infrastructure improvements will also serve to mitigate this upward pressure.

The Committee is cognisant of the fact that a housing deposit is the largest barrier for first home buyers. Therefore, one of the key recommendations is that first home buyers be allowed to use their superannuation assets as security for a home loan. The report also makes recommendations regarding emerging housing models in Australia, including rent-to-own and build-to-rent housing.

It is evident that there are serious and large-scale issues in Australia’s housing market. In many parts of the country, an increasing number of Australians are struggling to buy a home, find an affordable rental property that meets their needs, and afford housing costs. Meanwhile, home ownership rates continue to fall. This situation has severe implications for us now and future generations.

The Committee hopes that this report will pave the way for effective government action and cooperation to address this critical issue, and thanks all of those who contributed to this inquiry.

A full copy of the Committee’s report can be found on the Inquiry’s website.

The UNSW SMaRT Centre has had published three scientific papers that show that waste coffee grounds and hydrogen from other wastes can be used as part of its patented Green Steel technology.

In the latest research breakthroughs on SMaRT@UNSW’s Green Steel Polymer Injection Technology (PIT), industrial trials with partner Molycop have shown various wastes can be used to more sustainably make steel in electric arc furnaces.

Wastes including plastic and coffee grounds now join waste rubber tyres as alternative sources of coke and coal as previously vital ingredients as carbon sources for steel making, and can provide the element hydrogen which vastly improves the efficiency and energy required for the manufacturing process.

UNSW SMaRT Centre Director, Professor Veena Sahajwalla said:  “Steelmakers have to meet the demands of quality requirements. The metal that gets produced doesn’t have any memory of whether the parent material that went in was coal or coffee.

“Steelmakers have to meet the demands of quality requirements,” lead researcher Veena Sahajwalla said. “The metal that gets produced doesn’t have any memory of whether the parent material that went in was coal or coffee.

“It gives you the kind of productivity requirements that any commercial operator will want,” Ms Sahajwalla said. “We’ve proven that it does the job at a comparable level, so we’re going to be at least sitting at an equivalent performance. If I’m going to be so bold and brave, I’d love to show that it can do even better.

“We (Australian steelmakers) are leaders in the space globally,” Ms Sahajwalla said. “We’re the first to be able to take all of these technological advances and show that it can be done.

“The ideal would be if we completely eliminate the coke,” Veena said. “If you have a combination of materials, you get a better outcome because you’re able to finetune and customise green steel and take the kinds of materials that do the best job.”

“This is not a waste, it’s a really useful resource,” she said. “It’s going to be an interesting shift towards valuing our waste resources and thinking about those inno­vative supply chains where recycling and manufacturing can be coupled together.”