❓ Dr. Buti asks about the impact of the WA recovery plan's investment in exploration technology on the resources sector and job creation. The Minister outlines investments in Curtin University, exploration incentives, and co-funded drilling to stimulate mining exploration and job growth.
AnsweredQoN 598Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — WA
RECOVERY PLAN
598. Dr A.D. BUTI to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I can think of no better birthday present than to ask a question
of the Minister for Mines and Petroleum!
I refer to the McGowan
Labor government's fantastic $5.5 billion recovery plan that includes
significant investment in unlocking future mining opportunities. Can the
minister outline to the house how this government's investment in exploration technology will create more
opportunities for the Australian resources sector and what that investment means for Western Australian jobs and Western Australian workers?
RECOVERY PLAN
598. Dr A.D. BUTI to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I can think of no better birthday present than to ask a question
of the Minister for Mines and Petroleum!
I refer to the McGowan
Labor government's fantastic $5.5 billion recovery plan that includes
significant investment in unlocking future mining opportunities. Can the
minister outline to the house how this government's investment in exploration technology will create more
opportunities for the Australian resources sector and what that investment means for Western Australian jobs and Western Australian workers?
AnswerView source ↗
I should start by wishing the member for Armadale a happy
birthday.
I can, in fact, help the member with the answer to that
question. It is exciting that the strong and stable leadership provided by the Premier is allowing Western Australia
to recover faster than any other state. That is reflected in the mining sector in particular. The Premier's
strong leadership has allowed the mining sector to continue to work through this difficult time. Recognising that this
is a difficult time, the government is supporting the industry to do even more in the future. As part of the government's $5.5 billion recovery plan,
the government has allocated $3.6 million to Curtin University to join the
commonwealth government in funding the installation of a brand-new ion
microprobe for Curtin University. This will be one of only five such devices in
the world and keeps Curtin University and Western Australia at the leading edge
of modern technology that allows even more resources to be found underground.
This will make sure that Western Australia continues to be the number one
destination in the world for investment in the mining industry.
In addition, we have
allocated $5 million over the next 12 months to top-up the exploration
incentive scheme to a total of $15 million over the next 12 months. Of that
additional $5 million, $2 million is allocated to Geological Survey of Western
Australia to keep Western Australia's publicly available
pre-competitive geological data at the leading edge globally. It is very
important to understand that this pre-competitive data collected by Geological
Survey is one of the reasons that we continue to be the destination of choice
for explorers globally because they can de-risk their investments by choosing
targets that have been acquired in that pre-competitive data. This is a very
critical part of keeping Western Australia at the forefront of mining
investment.
We have gone further and provided $3 million for co-funded
drilling to incentivise drillers back to our state as we recover from COVID. We
all understand that probably only one in 100 drilling programs actually finds a
viable mine site. De-risking and co-funding these drilling operations means
that it is much more likely that we will get early stage investment in the
exploration sector so that we can then develop the mines of the future. Have we
not done well over the last short while?
Mr W.R. Marmion : It is a great Liberal and National
Party initiative.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : Hon Norman Moore wanted to keep it
away from royalties for regions but I understand that the Liberal Party threw
it under the bus by tying it to royalties for regions, but that is a separate
issue.
This is very good for Western Australia
because it means that we will continue to find new resources. It will also
create new jobs, including for drillers and geologists, and attract new
investment and keep Western Australia at the cutting edge of geological
understanding, because the next big deposits will be found underground.
birthday.
I can, in fact, help the member with the answer to that
question. It is exciting that the strong and stable leadership provided by the Premier is allowing Western Australia
to recover faster than any other state. That is reflected in the mining sector in particular. The Premier's
strong leadership has allowed the mining sector to continue to work through this difficult time. Recognising that this
is a difficult time, the government is supporting the industry to do even more in the future. As part of the government's $5.5 billion recovery plan,
the government has allocated $3.6 million to Curtin University to join the
commonwealth government in funding the installation of a brand-new ion
microprobe for Curtin University. This will be one of only five such devices in
the world and keeps Curtin University and Western Australia at the leading edge
of modern technology that allows even more resources to be found underground.
This will make sure that Western Australia continues to be the number one
destination in the world for investment in the mining industry.
In addition, we have
allocated $5 million over the next 12 months to top-up the exploration
incentive scheme to a total of $15 million over the next 12 months. Of that
additional $5 million, $2 million is allocated to Geological Survey of Western
Australia to keep Western Australia's publicly available
pre-competitive geological data at the leading edge globally. It is very
important to understand that this pre-competitive data collected by Geological
Survey is one of the reasons that we continue to be the destination of choice
for explorers globally because they can de-risk their investments by choosing
targets that have been acquired in that pre-competitive data. This is a very
critical part of keeping Western Australia at the forefront of mining
investment.
We have gone further and provided $3 million for co-funded
drilling to incentivise drillers back to our state as we recover from COVID. We
all understand that probably only one in 100 drilling programs actually finds a
viable mine site. De-risking and co-funding these drilling operations means
that it is much more likely that we will get early stage investment in the
exploration sector so that we can then develop the mines of the future. Have we
not done well over the last short while?
Mr W.R. Marmion : It is a great Liberal and National
Party initiative.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : Hon Norman Moore wanted to keep it
away from royalties for regions but I understand that the Liberal Party threw
it under the bus by tying it to royalties for regions, but that is a separate
issue.
This is very good for Western Australia
because it means that we will continue to find new resources. It will also
create new jobs, including for drillers and geologists, and attract new
investment and keep Western Australia at the cutting edge of geological
understanding, because the next big deposits will be found underground.
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