Check against delivery

I begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today.

I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with us today.

I’d also like to acknowledge The Hon Chris Minns, Premier of NSW and The Hon Courtney Houssos, NSW Minister for Finance, Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, and Natural Resources.

And any other dignitaries who join us here in Sydney for IMARC today.

I acknowledge Resources Minister Madeleine King who unfortunately could not join us today.

I know that IMARC is one of the most highly anticipated events on Minister King’s calendar.

However, as many of you would have seen Minister King has been called to Washington to join Prime Minister Albanese to engage in talks to strengthen and build our resources industry here in Australia.

And that has resulted in the fantastic news overnight in Washington that Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump were able to sign a landmark bilateral framework on critical minerals and rare earths supply.

This framework will strengthen the relationship between our two countries and facilitate targeted investment and cooperation between our nations into the future.

This is my first IMARC as Australia’s new Assistant Minister for Resources.

And from my short experience thus far, it has been an incredible opportunity to engage with international delegations, vendors, companies and investors to see how we can work together to build a stronger industry and solve our shared challenges.

The growing success of IMARC is a credit to the event organisers and a great credit to Australia’s mining and resources sector.

I’d especially like to welcome this year’s European delegation, which I believe totals around 90 participants.

You come to IMARC, we go to Eurovision – that’s real diplomacy.

About 140 kilometres north-west of here, over the Blue Mountains, lies the town of Lithgow.

It was there, in 1872, that coal was first mined commercially at the Eskbank Colliery.

In its first year of operation, the colliery produced 4,321 tons of coal.

That coal powered the first steelworks in New South Wales.

It fuelled the trains that connected Sydney to the west.

And it lit nearby homes and workshops.

By doing so, it underpinned the early prosperity of this state – and of Australia.

The opening of the Eskbank Colliery was a significant turning point in the history of our resources industry.

As we meet for this year’s IMARC, we’re on the cusp of another turning point.

The resources sector underpins our prosperity and security.

There are challenges, new considerations, and new technologies.

Five weeks ago, the Albanese Government announced its intention to cut carbon emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035.

This important intermediate target forms part of our government’s broader goal of Net Zero by 2050.

Meeting those goals will require significant leadership from the mining and resources sector.

The challenge before us is to ensure the sector continues being a driver of our productivity and prosperity while also contributing to decarbonisation.

In this context, the focus of this year’s IMARC – resourcing solutions for decarbonisation, risk management, and productivity in mining – is timely.

Australian mining firms deliver jobs, drive innovation, underpin regional communities, and help build the prosperity we enjoy today.

They’re our country’s strongest economic performers.

All told, our commodities exports and METS sectors generate more than half of Australia’s total goods exports.

That contribution has also made our nation more secure – insulating us against economic shocks, strengthening our alliances, and ensuring we are seen as a reliable partner around the world.

Through the Albanese Government’s Future Made in Australia program, a $22.7 billion commitment to realise benefits of the transition to Net Zero, that productivity is flowing downstream to power new industries, new technologies, and new opportunities for Australian workers.

The road to Net Zero runs through Australia’s resources sector.

Australia, let alone our allies, won’t achieve Net Zero without more lithium, more nickel, more copper, and more rare earths.

These elements are essential to the batteries, semiconductors, and renewable energy components that will be central to the energy transition.

We have some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals.

Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity is the Australian Government’s 35-year, $3.4 billion initiative, led by Geoscience Australia, to accelerate the discovery and development of critical minerals and other resources, to support our energy transition.

We also have the capability, the research base, and the commitment to unlock them in ways that are both commercially viable and environmentally responsible.

Through initiatives such as the National Reconstruction Fund, the Critical Minerals Strategy, and the Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, the Australian Government is supporting investment in exploration, processing, and downstream manufacturing.

We are determined that Australia will not only be a supplier of raw materials, but a nation that captures more value here at home.

But in an era of not only energy transition, but also renewed strategic competition, the question of what we do after extraction is becoming increasingly important.

This new opportunity for our country was clearly illustrated to me in a visit to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia just last week.

As many of you would know, it’s a town with a rich history of gold mining for well over a hundred years.

And while the gold reserves continue to be mined from the Superpit there, the town of Kalgoorlie has now become the home of Lynas Rare Earths and Australia’s first rare earths processing facility.

This facility processes the rare earth concentrate further down the value chain where it eventually can be used to manufacture the technologies needed for the future.

Just as the transition to Net Zero won’t happen without Australian critical minerals, it also won’t happen without Australian gas and iron ore.

Gas will play an important role in firming our electricity grid and providing energy to heavy industries throughout the transition to Net Zero.

Australian LNG is also critical to our regional trading partners’ decarbonisation.

And that was demonstrated in Minister King’s recent visit to Japan – a country that relies on Australian LNG to power its advanced industries.

The Future Gas Strategy, which the Albanese Government released last year, affirmed our commitment to remaining a reliable trading partner for energy, including both LNG and low emission gases.

It also outlines a clear, sensible path to Net Zero, while still maintaining reliable gas supply.

Implementing the recommendations of the Future Gas Strategy remains one of the Albanese Government’s highest priorities.

We are also undertaking a Gas Market Review in line with the Future Gas Strategy’s principles. The Review will ensure we have a regulatory framework that safeguards domestic energy security, supports the transition to Net Zero, and allows us to meet commitments to our international partners.

Australia’s competitively priced iron ore, coupled with our reputation for reliability, puts us in a strong position to capitalise on new opportunities now and into the future.

One of those new opportunities is in green metal manufacturing.

As the world transitions to Net Zero, Australia has significant potential to become one of the lowest-cost producers of green metals.

To build on these advantages, we are supporting local green metals producers.

In January, the Albanese Government announced the $2 billion Green Aluminium Production Credit, which will support Australian aluminium producers as they transition to renewable energy.

In February, we announced the $1 billion Green Iron Investment Fund, which will provide at least $500 million to early mover green iron projects in Australia.

And in March, we announced that $750 million from the $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund will go towards cutting-edge green metals projects.

All up, this represents almost $4 billion in support for green metals producers.

It’s through seizing opportunities such as this that the Australian resources sector will continue to enhance productivity and prosperity.

Driving productivity will also require embracing innovation – from automation and robotics to AI, data analytics, and remote operations.

Australia’s world class METS sector has delivered breakthroughs that cut costs, improve safety, and reduce environmental impacts.

Government will continue to support that innovation – and continue to back exploration, because tomorrow’s mines begin with work done today.

Events like IMARC are an excellent reminder that Australia’s resources are much more than just an export.

They are a cornerstone of our diplomacy and our international influence.

By supplying the world with reliable, responsibly produced resources, we strengthen our alliances, contribute to global energy security, and support the prosperity of our friends and allies.

The world is asking this industry – our industry – to deliver solutions for the complex economic and environmental challenges we face.

As IMARC makes so plain, Australia is ready to answer that call.

We will build resilient supply chains.

We will unlock the minerals needed for net zero.

We will invest in innovation and productivity. And we will do it while creating jobs, building skills, and respecting communities.

Thank you.