Mr Beazley, the Hawke Labor government’s defence minister, argues in a new paper that funding for critical minerals mines should become a key plank of the AUKUS alliance.
The paper authored by Mr Beazley and former defence adviser Ben Halton, to be released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Thursday, says Australia’s deposits of critical minerals should become a key pillar of the AUKUS alliance in order to avoid the risks posed by China’s domination of the processing and refining of rare earths and other strategic commodities.
The paper says that would require sizeable government investment in backing Australian mines and refineries as part of broader moves to “hedge” against China’s military build-up and increasingly assertive role on the global stage.
While the current investment boom in minerals, such as lithium, rare earths, graphite and other commodities, has been seen by investors as a play towards the vast demand likely to be created by moves to decarbonise global electricity grids and transport networks, Mr Beazley says defence considerations should also play a significant role in the development of a future Australian mining and processing industry.
“Viewing critical minerals as enablers of lucrative civil sectors may inadvertently obscure other important national-security dimensions,” the paper says.
“Lithium isn’t just for batteries, even though batteries account for 74 per cent of its global end-use market.
“It’s also essential for armour, airframes, jet engines and nuclear reactors too. And tin isn’t just for roofing; it’s also critical for alloys and semiconductors for ‘dual-use’ (military and civilian) applications.”
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