Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that a $1.17 billion nickel mine in WA’s Goldfields region will be fast-tracked, granting it national Major Project Status.
Key points:
- The Prime Minister says investing in critical minerals is a matter of national security
- He also announced a new university health training department in Kalgoorlie
- The government isn’t looking to change tax exemptions for mining companies in regional housing markets
Mr Morrison made the announcement in Kalgoorlie after a visit to the Super Pit gold mine, the last stop of his tour of Western Australia.
He said the move would help streamline approvals for the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project which he said would create jobs and invest in the critical minerals sector as a matter of national security.
“If there’s one thing we’ve learned, particularly with the invasion of Ukraine from Russia and the pressures that we’ve faced here in Australia … is that you need a secure supply,” Mr Morrison said.
“Australia can deliver for that, and that’s great for our national security and it’s great for our economy.”
It comes after Mr Morrison announced $120 million towards a battery metals refinery hub in Kalgoorlie in partnership with Poseidon Nickel.
Regions need more than mining
The Prime Minister also announced $36 million towards the creation of two new university departments of rural health (UDHR) in the Goldfields and WA’s South West.
“Australia is not just the eight capital cities and territories, it’s the broad expanses of our rural and regional communities that deliver so much wealth and wellbeing for our country.
“The resources industry also needs healthy communities to support it as well.”
Local Liberal MP Rick Wilson said it would be a step towards addressing health worker shortages in the region.
“Access to health care is a huge issue across the Goldfields, so this commitment is a game-changer for our region which I have been fighting hard for,” he said.
Families compete with miners for housing
Meanwhile, Mr Morrison said reforms to Fringe Benefits Tax exemptions, which can give mining companies the upper hand in already tight regional property markets, were not on the table.
Mr Wilson said the Productivity Commission recommended the policy, which gives mining companies a tax cut on housing expenses, be removed, but that the government would not be doing that.
“The current situation remains, but it’s certainly something that I’m very aware of and other regional members and the government are very aware of,” Mr Wilson said.
