DALE LAST, QUEENSLAND STATE MINISTER FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND MINES: Great to be in Mount Isa today, joined, of course, by Minister Tim Ayres and Glencore at this roundtable discussion here in Mount Isa today. A very, very important discussion, which forms part of our transformation study going forward. The transformation study that was announced as part of that $600 million deal to save the copper smelter here in Mount Isa. We said at the time that we would continue to visit this community, that we would keep coming back and keep that consultation going, and true to our word, we are here today to have that roundtable discussion with a number of key stakeholders, because we want this transformation study to really underpin the direction going forward to look at the whole proper value chain holistically, what's available in the region. What are the opportunities in the region? Do we need to make any changes to the regulations? And it's an important discussion that will help to underpin that transformation study. Expressions of interest opened this week. We hope to announce that successful tender in the next couple of weeks to move forward with a report due by September this year. We're not mucking around. Time is of the essence. We want to give this community certainly going forward. But this smelter does have a life at the end of this three years of funding and that's what this is about today. 

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: G'day, I'm absolutely delighted to be here for the third time, I think, since I was appointed as the Minister of Industry and Innovation. The copper smelter here in Mount Isa, the old Mount Isa mines facility and the broader industrial systems here, is one of Australia's most important industrial regions, and the Albanese Government is determined to work closely with my friend here, Dale Last, and the Crisafulli Government in a coordinated way to stabilise this facility, to strengthen this facility and to build a stronger industrial economy here in Mount Isa for the future. The prospects for copper and copper exports are strong. Global market prices for copper continue to improve, and that's driven fundamentally by changes in technology and the adoption of net zero industrial practices by our partners. We know that there's a strong future for copper, but we cannot leave it in an environment where treatment charges are still desperately low because the global market for copper is so concentrated. There are subsidies and non-market practices that are forcing Australian copper smelters to be less competitive on the global market. We cannot allow this to continue. And the $600 million package announced by Dale and I and Prime Minister Albanese and Premier Crisafulli is all about securing the future of the region. But it's not just about Glencore. It's about the surrounding mines. It's about the other industrial infrastructure in this region – Dyno Nobel, the contractors and suppliers, and the Townsville refinery. We've all got a role to play. And this transformation study, which has announced its expression of interest today, is really about driving a process that builds a plan for the whole copper supply chain, everybody in the community, trade unions, business, the local government, business leaders, experts around the region to put their shoulder behind the wheel as Queenslanders and Australians to deliver the best outcome here. Dale and I will be here talking about that process and demanding accountability from our partners here in the business community and the community more broadly, because we are determined to create a future, to craft a future for North West Queensland that is all about copper and critical minerals processing, and is a Future Made in Australia, right here in Northern Queensland. Any questions?

JOURNALIST: Can you give us a bit of an overview? What are the specific outcomes you'd like to see from this transformation? 

AYRES: Today, we're going to canvas that with business leaders and community leaders who will be here with us today to get them to think carefully about the way that they contribute to the transformation study. I want to see an outcome here that drives accountability for everyone. Now look at Glencore, who we announced that the $600 million package with just a few months ago, they have a plan to contribute a significant investment capital in their broader operations in the region, two and a half billion dollars over the next six years, fundamentally, as a result of the package that the Australian Government and the Queensland Government. The Queensland Government is providing support in terms of rail subsidies and rail support that they have announced. The Albanese Government, with our broader Future Made in Australia program, the biggest pro-manufacturing package in Australian history, is providing support in terms of production incentives and capital support and stabilising and strengthening these kinds of industrial facilities. Everybody though, here in the community, trade unions, business, everybody has got to put their shoulder behind the wheel, because we can build an industrial future for this region that makes it the strongest industrial region in the country, and potentially in the southern hemisphere. This should be the Silicon Valley of future critical minerals production in Australia. The copper industry here has a strong mining resources and refining and smelting set of capabilities. That means that we should be sending copper to our partners, particularly in the United States, North Asia, the European Union, broadening and diversifying our economic base, and diversifying the partners with whom we trade. 

JOURNALIST: And just breaking it down.

AYRES: That's journo talk for “you just rambled on for too long”. It'll be resourced by the Commonwealth and Queensland to make sure there's analysis and secretariat support. We want to pick the right proponent to do this so it's an independent process. Glencore, the other industrial facilities, the Albanese Government, the Crisafulli Government, have all got confidence in the outcome that it takes no prisoners, really, in terms of the kind of findings and analysis, but I want to see a pathway forward for industrial development in the Northwest region that's credible and that we can all invest in.

JOURNALIST: [inaudible]

AYRES: It's a critical part of the support package. The $600 million package includes as a contingent facility, this transformation study, and we're determined to make it work, and we're determined to make a [inaudible].

JOURNALIST: [inaudible]

AYRES: This transformation study is a completely unique approach. We haven't seen it before, a jointly funded Commonwealth-State-Glencore approach to driving that kind of independent assessment and analysis and saying it's not just about us, it's about all of us as Australians, putting our shoulder behind the wheel. There's no easy answers. There's no guaranteed outcome. But if we sit on our hands and do nothing, as Angus Taylor has suggested, opposed to these kinds of interventions, if we sit on our hands and do nothing, regional Australia dies. It requires boldness of vision in terms of Albanese Government's Future Made in Australia approach, and it requires really close cooperation, whether it's a Labor state or a Liberal National Party state, as Australians together delivering a Future Made in Australia. That's what this is about. And I'm pretty sick of the negative talk in Canberra talking down Australian manufacturing. Everybody here in the street knows what it is that Mount Isa people have done over the course of the last century in industrial terms, and I'm determined to make sure with the Prime Minister and the Queensland Government and with Dale and the team that we craft a future and hold each other accountable for delivering a terrific outcome for Australia's industrial resilience and for the Mount Isa community. 

JOURNALIST: This was first announced five months ago. What [inaudible] the rollout for the region? 

AYRES: We're working through delivery of the first package. There are milestones in the project that all of the partners have to meet. There are ongoing discussions about that underneath the bonnet. There's always a lot going on. We will hold each other accountable in the process. It's a direct, robust, complex and sophisticated discussion with Glencore. Queensland is doing the same. I'm delighted to see that rail support that they have announced. That makes a real difference, not just for that business, but for the mining sector and the resources sector more broadly. It's really great for Council. We are all putting our shoulder behind the wheel. We are all getting on with it and I'm really looking forward to this discussion in here and the coming months and years. There's a future for [inaudible]. 

JOURNALIST: [Inaudible]. 

LAST: We now live in a different world. The geopolitical landscape is changing almost on a daily basis. Underpinned, of course, with that critical minerals announcement, joint announcement between the US and Australia, that really lays the foundations now to take areas like [inaudible]. We are blessed with massive reserves and resources in the Northwest, critical minerals, rare earth minerals, we want to capitalise on that. That's what this discussion is about today. How can we look holistically at what's available out here? How can we bring that to fruition? And we are absolutely committed, federal and state governments on driving this forward.

AYRES: Even when it rains, we stick together.