SABRA LANE: Madeleine King, thanks for joining AM. 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: It's a pleasure to be with you, Sabra, here from Washington. 

SABRA LANE: Now signing this critical minerals deal was the easy part. How hard will it be now putting this rare earths policy into action and actually getting these minerals out of the ground and processed? 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, the thing is, a number of these projects are already on foot. If you think of the Iluka project in Eneabba, that's a stockpile which we've already invested in, and Iluka already building our refineries, so adding into that is important. Also Arafura is close to fully financed in Alice Springs, and that's a mine under development. So these things are progressing at pace. And the Australian resources industry is a very strong industry, a lot of people in it have been working on this for a long time, and this is, I guess turbo charging what they're going to be able to achieve.

SABRA LANE: One of the reasons China cornered the rare earths market is that the work involved is very dirty and dangerous and companies don't have the environmental and health regulations there that are mandatory elsewhere. Can you guarantee that there will be no shortcuts taken in getting these minerals out of the ground? 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: The thing about mining in our country is that there are strong approvals and there is a deep respect for the environment and we have the regulations in place. And the mining companies themselves know if they don't meet those approvals, if they, you know, they're not going to get the licence to literally the licence to operate if they don't make sure the environment is protected. And if we didn't have that whole suite of approvals, you wouldn't have the support of the community for this sector. And that is the great difference between us and a great number of other countries where resources is intrinsically part of the industrial base of this country, and it's, you know, we're very experienced at it. We're very experienced at doing it, not only in a way that respects the environment, but also very safely. The safety of the Australian resources sector is - I think it's the highest in the world. I mean there are accidents, and every accident is a tragedy, but they are certainly much safer than many other jurisdictions in the world. 

SABRA LANE: On the flip side, there are many companies that say it just takes too long to get approvals for projects, especially given the environmental considerations that are undertaken by the Commonwealth. 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, we can always do better with environmental approvals and other approvals, and we all know that. The state government's recognised that, the Federal Government, we recognise that. And we're working on that in respect of reforms of the EPBC Act, because not only is it difficult for companies, it's not working out as well as it should do for the environment itself. But I would point out that in the global competition around mining and what we are able to achieve in mining, we are much better placed than any other country. So, in other jurisdictions it takes a great many more years to get approvals for mining. So I do contest the idea that somehow these things can't happen because of our approvals processes. The resources companies themselves are deeply engaged with state jurisdictions and their rules, but also federally. 

SABRA LANE: This new deal means that there will be price floors for some minerals and blocking asset sales on security grounds. Both those things have the potential to rile Beijing. How prepared is the government for that given Australia's just patched up its relationship? 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, we always, you know, continue to engage constructively with China. This is about competing, and I've said this often. Like    

SABRA LANE: Sorry, it's not about competing? 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: It is about competing, it's about Australia competing in critical minerals and rare earths. So China is decades ahead of the rest of the world in developing these resources. They have invested in it, in the science and the actual work of doing it, and the western world did much less of that. Australia has been on a pathway for the past number of years on that, and the government has backed the sector in so that we can build an alternative supply of critical minerals and rare earths into, you know, countries around the world. But this landmark agreement with the US will enable that to happen much more quickly. It will enable a greater competition in the supply chain. And that's good for everybody, because you know what happens when we put our eggs in one basket. It creates greater risk for world supply. 

SABRA LANE: How much credit goes to the Australian Ambassador in the United States for this, and what do you make of the Opposition's calls for Kevin Rudd to be sacked? 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Kevin Rudd has been exceptional in relation to landing this historic agreement between Australia and the United States. I have worked countless hours with Kevin and his team on this project alone. And the past couple of days here in DC, witnessing the very high regard in which he's held in, across the administration on both sides of the aisle in DC, has been something to behold. So I have a great deal of respect for the work he's done, it's been invaluable, and the Prime Minister would agree with this. As to the Opposition's calls, that is an extraordinary, stupid example of overreach by the Leader of the Opposition, and just goes to show the reactionary methods to just about anything. Always going for a headline, having no thought whatsoever of the national interest at a moment when the Prime Minister is in DC signing what is, as I said before, a landmark agreement between our two countries to secure our relationship and resources development for both national security, but also to support clean energy technologies, the Leader of the Opposition comes up with, you know, that kind of rubbish. I think it's pathetic. 

SABRA LANE: Madeleine King, thanks for talking to AM. 

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Thanks very much, Sabra.