I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Yuggera and Turrbal peoples.

I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people here this evening.

The First Nations people of Australia were the first miners, mappers and navigators of this vast country.

I’d also like to acknowledge:

…my federal colleagues:

• Senator Susan McDonald – Shadow Minister for Resources and Shadow Minister for 
  Northern Australia
• Angie Bell MP, Member for Moncrieff and Shadow Minister for Environment and Youth
• The Hon Michelle Landry MP – Federal Member for Capricornia

From the Queensland State Government:

• The Hon Fiona Simpson MP – QLD Minister for Women & Women’s Economic Security; 
  Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships; Minister for Multiculturalism
• Hon Dale Last MP – QLD Minister for Natural Resources and Mines; Minister for Manufacturing; 
  Minister for Regional and Rural Development

And from the Minerals Council of Australia:

• Andrew Michelmore – Chair
• Tania Constable – Chief Executive Officer, and
• Members of the MCA Board.

I would also like to congratulate the nominees and award recipients. 

And I thank BHP for their continued support of the Women in Resources National Awards, and acknowledge Anna Wiley, President of Copper South Australia representing the Big Australian here tonight.

It’s great to be here on this special night. 

As the first woman to be appointed as Australia’s Resources Minister, this event is very close to my heart.

And I am proud to be part of the Albanese Labor Government which is Australia’s first federal government where women are in the majority, now making up more than half of the Labor Caucus. 

And the Cabinet of this nation, of which I am a member, now sees decision making and policy development carried out by an equality of women and men. 

Everyone in this room knows the future of the resources industry must be female. 

Not that anyone needs reminding, but please let me point out the incredible women who are leading the resources sector right now. 

Meg O’Neill heads our largest oil and gas company as the Chief Executive of Woodside. 

Geraldine Slattery has been the President of BHP’s Australian operations since 2022, and has spent 30 years with the Big Australian.

And of course, there is Gina Rinehart AO, who heads of one of Australia’s most successful mining companies, Hancock Prospecting – a private company which has been transformed under her leadership.

Everyone here knows Tania Constable - the CEO of our hosts here tonight - the Minerals Council of Australia.  

I can absolutely confirm that Tania is a strong advocate for this industry and I value her ongoing positive engagement.

Amanda Lacaze has been a trailblazer in her leadership of rare earths company, Lynas. What a story that is. And what a story it will continue to be.

And the head of Energy Producers Australia, our peak oil and gas industry body, Samantha McCulloch, continues her strong leadership work in that sector. 

Here in the great state of Queensland, Janette Hewson, as CEO of the Queensland Resources Council, ensures the sector is well represented to government.

In South Australia, the interim CEO of the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy, Nicola McFarlane, is following on from the leadership of Rebecca Knol. 

And I acknowledge the leadership of Rebecca Tompkinson as the CEO of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy in WA, who is soon to take up a position representing my home state in London.

For the Government’s part – there is exceptional female leadership in the resources portfolio:

• Sue McCarry as CEO of our Federal Offshore regulator, NOPSEMA;
• Melissa Harris PSM – the first female CEO of the truly remarkable national institution 
  that is Geoscience Australia; and
• Meghan Quinn as the Secretary of my Department – the Department of Industry, 
  Science and Resources.

This is a list of remarkable women doing remarkable work, in their leadership of the resources sector. 

I hope it is an inspiration to younger women in this industry and a reminder to the community of the achievements of women in resources.

I think their cumulative achievements demonstrates that there has been real progress.

But I want to be clear - we still need to do more. 

Women make up just over 20 per cent of Australia’s resources sector workforce. 

That’s about 68,000 women working in the sector – with most of them working full-time.

That’s an improvement on ten years ago, when just 16 per cent of the sector’s workforce were women. 

Whenever I go to a site, be it in the Pilbara, the Goldfields, the coalfields of New South Wales or to a gas processing facility here in Queensland, I always enjoy meeting the growing numbers of female workers. 

And they are in all streams of work. 

Engineers, geologists, operators, managers, laboratory technicians, truck drivers, caterers, health workers.

I’d like to congratulate BHP in particular for the hard work they have done in increasing women’s participation in the industry.

Forty per cent of BHP’s global workforce is female.

This is a world-first for a global mining company.

Most major mining and energy companies are employing growing numbers of women.

At Woodside, 36 per cent of their workforce are female.

A quarter of the Rio Tinto workforce are women.

And the same can be said for the workforces of Fortescue and Hancock Prospecting.

This is a positive story when we consider that the national average employment rate for women in resources companies is 22 per cent. 

Across all industries, Workplace Gender Equality Agency reports women make up 51 per cent of the national workforce, although those figures are skewed somewhat by the large number of women in casual and part time work.

So yes, we can do more. 

Encouraging female workers into the resources sector is the best way we can address worker shortages.

Of course, some problems remain. 

This time last month, I was at the Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie.

I know why I am not invited to speak at Diggers and Dealers. They generally prefer to not have elected representatives hold the mic. And that is fine. Although I note there have been exceptions to their tradition.

But what is less fine is when women are not visible at the centre stage of such events.

Of the more than 40 directors, chief executives and chairs who took to the stage to speak to the more than 2,000 delegates, only one – Rowena Smith, the trailblazing CEO and Managing Director of Australian Strategic Minerals – was a woman.

Perhaps this is an issue with a lack of female representation in the junior resources sector that Diggers & Dealers is mostly concerned with. Clearly, for the longevity and sustainability of the industry at all levels, it would be a good thing to see an improvement there. 

When I delivered my most recent Resources Statement to Parliament in 2023, I called on the sector to continue work to improve pay and conditions for women. 

The Albanese Government is leading by example, and with action.

In 2023, we introduced laws to require companies with more than 500 employees to report on gender pay gaps, and to expand reporting requirements related to sexual harassment.

And in March this year, we passed legislation to require companies with more than 500 workers to select, achieve or make progress on gender equity targets.

The latest report from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency published in August found that progress is happening.

And on a very positive note, the agency notes that many employers are taking action above and beyond their compliance obligations.

Again, I congratulate the resources industry for the work being done on gender equity – and note many of the nominations for awards tonight reflect those programs and outcomes.

Can I also congratulate the men here tonight who are being recognised as champions of change and for recognising how women can improve their workforces.

The gender pay gap is shrinking, but it remains around 12 per cent in the mining industry – a five-percentage point improvement on a decade ago.

So while more needs to be done, those figures are heading in the right direction. And not before time.

The gender pay gap is, in my view, one of the saddest indicators of inequality in this nation. Most women know what  it feels like to have to manage up to someone who gets paid more, to do less.

Actually, this happens regularly regardless of gender. But when managing up is coupled with systemic gender pay bias, it is endlessly frustrating, outrageous and unfair.

The Albanese Government will continue to explore every opportunity to create workplaces that are safe and inclusive, that welcome and encourage women, and support them to become leaders.

But as we all know, change works better when it’s driven from the industry rather than imposed. That’s what makes events like this so important.

Celebrating the accomplishments of women and champions of gender equality in the resources sector is an important step to achieving our shared goal: Having more women in the resources sector.

Thank you. And congratulations once again to all the nominees and award winners.

ENDS