Australia must become ‘self-reliant’ as the ‘world of ever-expanding free trade is gone’: Albanese
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The news: Australia must prepare for “what comes next” after the war in Iran, by leaning on the Australian energy sector, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will warn, adding that the “stable, predictable world of ever-expanding free trade is gone” and that Australia must become self-reliant.
The context: Albanese will tell the Minerals Council, according to a copy of the speech provided to Capital Brief, that the Australian resources industry is critical to the country navigating the “global economic storm that the war in Iran has unleashed” and to the challenge of emerging from the conflict “stronger, more resilient, more secure and more self-reliant.”
Albanese will state that the best way deal with global uncertainty, is to mobilise all national strengths, specifically calling out the central role the mining industry will play in this recovery.
Speaking at the annual Minerals Industry Dinner on Monday evening, the Prime Minister will tell the Council that Australia must position itself for a decarbonising global economy will need more copper, more rare earths and more iron ore.
He will warn that the disruption already being seen across the global economy “goes deeper” than “arbitrary trade barriers, or sanctions tied to strategic competition.” He will argue the disruption is about ongoing threat to the safety of global shipping routes and physical destruction of oil and gas infrastructure across the Middle East.
“So even if we were to wake up tomorrow to the welcome news that this conflict was over, there would still be a long economic tail to reckon with…The stable, predictable world of ever-expanding free trade is gone — and it will not be returning any time soon,” he will warn.
Albanese will add that critical minerals will be “at the centre” of discussions between Australia and the European Union when he meets with EU President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday.
“At a time when the world wants what Australia has — all of us have a responsibility to ensure that our natural resources continue to deliver a national benefit, true to our national values,” Albanese will say.
The source: Anthonly Albanese Minerals Council Speech
