I couldn't agree more with all your above posts today...

I couldn't agree more with all your above posts today @Goldilocks. We are already a banana republic and far too dependent on a handful of primary production exports to a handful of overseas customers, without any attempt to add value, increase export profits or grow employment opportunities. Even with our higher wages and more costly ESG requirements here in Australia, the benefits of quickly developing battery plants and lithium conversion facilities in Australia are likely to outweigh that old labour argument. Increased employment opportunities, international trading independence/revenue and reduced freight/shipping costs (due to lower volume/weight of processed goods) are just a few of the obvious benefits Australia and its political strategists need to recognise. We foolishly lost most of our manufacturing industries including the car industry, but here we have a wonderful opportunity to correct that thanks to climate change, ESG regulations and, as usual, our abundant battery material resources which conceivably replace the importance and demand for fossil fuel exports.