Parties vie for WA lithium battery votes
Nick Evans and Stuart McKinnonThe West Australian
Wednesday, 3 October 2018 10:39AM
Ravensthorpe rides new mining boom
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Take a look inside the massive lithium operation putting the small town of Ravensthorpe on the map
Federal Labor says it wants to “supercharge” Australia’s involvement in the lithium-ion battery sector and is promising to back WA with research dollars and access to infrastructure and manufacturing funds worth billions to do so, if it wins government.
A report by Australia’s chief resources economist released yesterday said Australia could reap “hundreds of billions” from an explosion in the use of lithium batteries, saying that all the materials required to make them could be found in WA.
Shadow resources minister Jason Clare told WestBusiness a Federal Labor government would make downstream processing of battery metals mined in Australia a policy priority, promising to back the industry with research grants and priority access to the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
Labor has also promised to establish a $1 billion Australian manufacturing future fund to extend loans for local manufacturing plants, which would also be available to miners and processors wanting to add value to raw minerals mined in WA. By the end of the year it's predicted WA will produce half the world's supply of lithium.
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By the end of the year it's predicted WA will produce half the world's supply of lithium.
“We want to support them to take the next step further down the supply chain,” he said.
Mr Clare said Labor would also make research into battery metal processing a funding priority for the Federal Government’s multibillion-dollar Australian Research Council grants program.
Speaking to WestBusiness in Perth yesterday after an industry roundtable attended by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan said the Government would take a lead role in promoting Australia’s lithium and new minerals potential overseas.
“And I’d also like to see and consider how we can better co-ordinate our infrastructure investment to support the development of new projects,” he said.
Senator Canavan said the Government was considering a range of proposals put to it by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies and the WA lithium sector, including concerns about the Government’s planned research and development tax changes, which introduces a $4 million cap on rebates for junior companies’ spending on R&D.
However, he said the Government had made its decision after considering reports and he thought the changes would receive widespread support in Parliament.
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