Koppamurra Mining Licence

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:34): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the government grant a mining licence for Australian Rare Earths to mine in the Koppamurra region in South Australia. With your leave, Mr Speaker, and the leave of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: Extensive exploratory drilling by AR3 has been undertaken in the region. Local farmers are concerned about the impacts that this mining will have on their water resources and the high-value agricultural land.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:34): This is the eternal question that regional members have with the conflict of farming and of course mining. Rare earths are particularly valuable for our national sovereignty and our national defence. The rare earths that are mined in Australia add to our allies' sovereign capability, a sovereign capability that is held by other nations that are involved in the largest military build-up since World War II. They have almost a monopoly on these rare earths.

I am not going to stand here today and rule out or rule in any mining licence. It will be assessed independently, a recommendation will be made to me and I will make a decision on the basis of the facts given to me by my agency. What I will not do is I will not—and I mean this with the utmost respect—just simply rule out an area on the basis of local opposition or local support. It will be based on whether or not multiple land-use frameworks can be implemented, the value of the resource to the state, the value of the resource to the nation and the value of the resource to our allies.

Rare earths is something that this government is committed to for a national capability of doing all we can to exploit, because we have been endowed with remarkable resources in this state, whether it be copper (which I consider to be a critical mineral), whether it be gold and silver or iron ore. Of course, we get down the value chain to much more exotic rare earths that are important for night vision, for aeronautical purposes, for strategic purposes and for military purposes.

Our adversaries in the region are working very hard to exploit their natural resources and get hold of these rare earths; if we have them, we should too. If that means making a decision in the national interest, this government will.