Source: Prime Minister of Australia
MADELEINE KING, MINISTER FOR RESOURCES: Good morning, everybody, and welcome here to the towns of Karratha and Dampier, up here in the north of Western Australia. It’s a true honour and a privilege to be here at the Perdaman Urea Plant today, with Chairman Vikas Rambal, and I want to just acknowledge the work you and your whole family to create what is the largest manufacturing project underway in Australia at this moment. And of course, I’m even more delighted to be joined here by Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, Premier Roger Cook, Minister of the WA Government, Amber-Jade Sanderson for Energy, and a few other things, and also Kevin Michel, local Member for the Pilbara. It’s a wonderful project that has been supported by the Australian Government over a number of years between the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and Export Finance Australia, the Albanese Labor Government has committed $750 million into a Future Made in Australia, made right here in Karratha at the Perdaman Urea Project. So, with that, I will hand over now to the Prime Minister to talk a little bit more about this.
< ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER:
Now, we can see from what’s happening in the Middle East with the ongoing conflict, that the world is very much an uncertain place. And if Australia just remains at their end of supply chains, then that makes us more vulnerable, which is why the key to our Budget was making us more resilient, more self-reliant, as well as promoting reform. Now, this is a plant that’s absolutely critical, because fertiliser is central to Australia’s agricultural industry, which is why we worked very hard to procure additional shipments during this recent period. I want to thank our Indonesian friends for helping out there. But what this will enable us to do when finished, it will produce 2.3 million tonnes of urea each year. We’ve supported the project through a $220 million loan, but also additional loans to support the expansion of the port and assist the water corporation. Now, it’s estimated that this project will generate an estimated $8.5 billion in public benefit, $8.5 billion. This is an extraordinary project. It is creating 2500 jobs during construction, including the work they’re doing through the Murujuga Corporation as well, working with First Nations people in this area. This is such an exciting project, and I’ve been coming to Karratha now since the end of the last century. What I’ve seen is extraordinary growth here, and what this will do as well, with housing being built for the workers who will work here, is really lift up this area and be a part of what I know Roger’s vision is, which is for the growth of regional cities here in Western Australia, that is so important.
Further today, I want to announce that the Government will kickstart investigations into building the nation’s third oil refinery right here in WA. Our predecessors sat back and watched oil refineries close. They thought there will be always someone else who will build something, somewhere else which Australia can rely on. We know that that’s not the case. So that’s why in our Budget in May we put forward $10 million for feasibility studies for production of refining right here in Australia, and $2 million from each level of government, $4 million for the feasibility study. What we know is that here in this region has a track record of taking ideas and vision and turning it literally into the reality that we see behind us here this morning. So I can’t think of anywhere better than here. And building an oil refinery here on the West Coast would obviously build our resilience as a nation, as well as particularly benefit Western Australia, which plays such a critical role in Australia’s economy. So this will be, if it is successful, the first new-scale petrol refinery built in Australia since the 1960s. It will create a major boost for local jobs of manufacturing, along with our sovereign capability, and that’s what this whole project and this whole great city is about. It’s about building sovereign capability, building resilience, making Australia less vulnerable to the shocks which we’ve seen since February 28, an extraordinary impact on the global economy. So this is a great announcement. The money is available, straight away, and we think and we hope that this leads to extra capacity, which is our objective here, and it’s fantastic to once again be partnering with Roger and the WA Government. This is my 44th visit to Western Australia as Prime Minister in just over four years. I don’t come just during elections. I’m here regularly, and including here in Karratha and the North< .
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