Henry threw his support behind the federal government’s newly released critical minerals strategy,which aims to capitalise on Australia’s abundant reserves of minerals key to the energy transition,despite criticism from some industry players that it will be dwarfed by the Biden administration’s $US360 billion ($536 billion) Inflation Reduction Act.
“Trying to match the Inflation Reduction Act is a losing proposition – Australia is simply too small,” he told the World Mining Congress on Tuesday.
“What governments here,federal and state,should focus on are those things within their control to make investment fundamentally more attractive – not simply due to the sugar hit of a subsidy.”
Loading
Henry said the Australian resources sector needed improved productivity and fiscal policy settings including faster permitting and a flexible and productive industrial relations system.
“I wish I could say that all the settings are moving in the right direction,” he said. “But unfortunately,for the nation,that is not the case.”
BHP has been a vocal critic of a number of policy changes,which it has argued will reduce Australia’s investment appeal.