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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 1206 asked in the Legislative Council on 4 November 2020 by Hon Charles Smith

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

LITHIUM INDUSTRY

1206. Hon CHARLES SMITH to the minister representing Minister for Mines and Petroleum:

I refer to a June 2020 report by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, which stated that compared with other jurisdictions globally, the Western Australian and Australian governments have done little policy-wise to support the upstream Western Australian lithium sector and, by extension, downstream processing activities.

Does the state government concede that without greater government support, Western Australia risks being consigned to a stunted, low-value role in the global value chain of lithium batteries and products that contain them?

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

I thank the member for the question and for his patience in waiting for a full answer to be provided. The following information has been provided by the Minister for Mines and Petroleum.

The Western Australian government has provided significant support to the upstream and downstream battery industries, including the lithium sector. This assistance includes amendments to the lithium royalty rate to encourage downstream processing in Western Australia and the establishment of the Future Battery Industry Ministerial Taskforce and the industry reference group, consisting of industry experts providing advice to further develop this industry in our state. The McGowan government has also invested $6 million in the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre, which aims to develop and support the battery and lithium sector. The Western Australian government has had involvement in numerous local and international conferences, marketing prospectuses and in-person advocacy to promote and support this industry. The government has also made available a $13.2 million incentive package for a precursor chemical plant or a cathode active material plant. The Western Australian government urges the federal government also to play a positive role.