STATE
ECONOMY — JOBS AND INVESTMENT
29. Mr K.J.J. MICHEL to the Minister for State Development,
Jobs and Trade:
I refer to the McGowan Labor government's efforts to
create more jobs for Western Australians and attract more investment to the
state economy. Will the minister update the house on the recent announcement of
the Perdaman urea project as well as the Hastings Technology Metals Ltd
Yangibana rare earths project, and outline the government's support for
these job-creating projects?
Mr R.H. COOK replied:
I thank the member for the question and I assure him that
these projects are unequivocally good for the people of Western Australia. This
is about downstream processing continuing to diversify our economy and provide
a clean, green energy future. The McGowan
government welcomes the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility's
decision to invest $255 million in upgrades to common-user
infrastructure that will support the proposed $4.3 billion Perdaman urea project. The project is located 20 kilometres
north-west of Karratha and will convert Western Australian liquefied
natural gas into about two million tonnes of urea a year. Urea is a widely used
form of fertiliser for food production. It is estimated that the Perdaman
project alone will create around 2 500 jobs during construction and 200
operational jobs.
It was announced recently
that a $140 million NAIF loan was granted to the Yangibana rare earths project
in the Gascoyne region. The Yangibana project, which comprises
operations at both the Yangibana site and the Ashburton North Strategic
Industrial Area near Onslow, will expand WA's capability in downstream
processing of rare earth minerals. The company facilitating the project,
Hastings Technology Metals, is on track to become Australia's second rare earths producer, following Lynas Rare
Earths' Kalgoorlie processing facility project. This is great
and exciting news. This project represents $650 million worth of investment and
is expected to create 360 construction jobs and 250 jobs once operational. The
Yangibana rare earths project aligns with the vision outlined by the WA
government in its future battery and critical minerals industry strategy. I thank
and commend the Minister for Mines and Petroleum for his stewardship of that
strategy.
This strategy will develop a world-leading, sustainable and
value-adding battery and critical minerals sector that will provide local jobs, support economic diversification and benefit
the regional communities in which they operate. Construction is expected
to begin later this year, subject to government approvals.
These are two great examples of how
the McGowan government is committed to creating jobs right here in Western Australia. We are committed to diversifying
the WA economy through new industries, coming from our strengths in
mining and oil and gas, but also through value adding via downstream processing
of these great opportunities. These are two terrific developments that will
significantly increase the economic diversity of Western Australia.