I acknowledge the Ngunnawal People, on whose land we meet this evening and pay my respects to their Elders.
I welcome you to the National Library tonight and thank the Minerals Council of Australia for the opportunity to speak to you.
Minerals Week is well established as an important event on the political calendar, as can be seen by the participation of the Prime Minister, and the number of Cabinet Ministers who will be speaking at various stages of the program this week.
I am looking forward to the discussion tomorrow morning on the 2020 Vision Project and what the recent 2020 Summit may mean for the mining industry.
The theme of Minerals Week this year, Building Capacity for Global Expansion, is timely given the 2020 Summit and many of the ideas which emerged.
However, I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the contribution the industry makes to the prosperity of Australia.
Mining is a technologically-advanced and innovative industry.
By investing in, and adopting the latest technologies, the mining industry is expanding capacity, exploited lower grade ore bodies, extending the life of existing mines, better managing the environmental impacts of mining and, most importantly, improving mine safety.
Ongoing research to develop new and better exploration and mining technologies and processes is essential if Australia is to maintain its status as an efficient and competitive supplier to world markets.
You know it and this Government knows it.
This is why mining is one of the first industry sectors to be addressed under the Government's Enterprise Connect Program, with the announcement of the $14 million Mining Technology Innovation Centre, or MTIC, to be opened in Mackay later this year.
The MTIC will play a key role in strengthening our already-world-class mining technology sector and help to ensure Australia remains at the frontline of the minerals sector globally.
We will talk more about the vision for the future tomorrow, but tonight I would like to take a few minutes to look back at what has gone before and talk about our surroundings here in the National Library of Australia.
This iconic building, now one of the most recognised structures in Canberra, and the nation, celebrates its 40th anniversary later this year.
The Library collection of course covers a much greater timeframe. The Library Director-General Jan Fullerton and her staff have selected a variety of items from the Library collection likely to be of greater interest to a mining audience for display this evening.
Thank you Jan for this very interesting and informative display.
While not always appreciated, particularly in the cities, mining has always been - and remains - integral to the lives of all who live in Australia.
Mining has always been part of the Australian story, from even before European settlement.
Mining was integral to the lives of indigenous Australians who traded throughout Australia, the ochre mined at Wilgie Mia, near the Weld Range iron ore project in Western Australia, for at least two thousand years before European settlement.
Mining was integral to the development of Australia; from the gold rushes of the 19th Century, through to the iron ore and nickel booms of the 1960s.
And today mining is directly responsible for the high levels of employment throughout Australia – not just in Queensland or Western Australia – as Australia responds to the booming demand for minerals to fuel the industrial growth of much of the world.
Mining has been the driving force:
- for much of Australia's industrial development;
- for a large part of our research and development;
- for exploring and opening vast areas of Australia's remote inland; and
- for recognising and taking ownership of the environmental impacts of mining as it pursues a sustainable future.
The great traditions of mining in Australia are on display around us this evening.
We have to be honest in recognising that these traditions have not always included fair treatment for Australia's Indigenous people.
The mining industry was not alone in poor treatment of the First Australians, but mining has an historical visibility because much of it took place in remote areas with significant Indigenous populations.
I believe the mining industry and Indigenous communities have moved a long way in relationship building since the High Court Mabo and Wik decisions of the 1990s.
A cultural change is taking place in relations between Indigenous communities and the mining industry.
Initiatives such as the Memorandum of Understanding on Indigenous Employment and Enterprise Facilitation between the Government and the Minerals Council of Australia are providing a framework for progressing opportunities for Indigenous communities.
Forums - such as the Sustainable Indigenous Communities Forum held today - are providing opportunities where improvements can be recognised and issues can be put on the table and discussed openly.
I said in Parliament after the Prime Minister's Apology to the Stolen Generation that we must make sure Indigenous Australians share the benefits of Australia's great economic opportunities, especially those brought forward by the current resources boom.
This is not only a responsibility, but an opportunity to make sure we get it right.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you take the opportunity to look at the cultural heritage display from the National Library collection and I hope you have a pleasant evening.
Thank you.