The budget leg-up for ‘Future Made in Australia’ through green metals is ultimately about shoring up Labor’s electoral base.
Already a subscriber?Successful politicians tell stories that attract voters. Examples include Robert Menzies’ 50s story about middle-class Australian families prospering, and Bob Hawke’s 80s story about “bringing Australians together”.
Whether Australians see this disparate mix coming together and emerging as one compelling story could have a significant bearing on the outcome of next year’s federal election. As conventional steel manufacturing is responsible for 7 per cent of CO2 emissions, the attraction of non-polluting Australian green iron metal for a currently heavily polluted China committed to a 2060 net-zero target is obvious.To facilitate this, the budget contained incentives for green iron metal projects and the processing of critical minerals such as lithium, a key component in electric vehicle car batteries.
In addition, the budget includes $1.7 billion allocated to the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund for the development of new industries such as green metals and low carbon fuels. While the Australian task may be much smaller in scale, it’s also more complex. It starts with green iron metal. Meanwhile, the list of potential consortia to launch green iron metal, and possibly even green steel, projects is growing. It includes BHP, Rio and BlueScope Steel; South Korean steel producer Posco and giant French power utility ENGIE; andForrest’s involvement once again underlines the pivotal role China has in the government’s Future Made in Australia story. Hailing from one of WA’s most influential families, “Twiggy” Forrest experienced some rocky times early on in his corporate career.
He raised more than $2 billion in US financial markets, and secured further funds after negotiating long-term contracts with Chinese steel mills.CBD column reported that Forrest had recruited former Victorian Labor premier Daniel Andrews to pursue sales contracts for green iron metal to Chinese steelmakers.
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