The good, the bad and the ugly of our critical minerals deal with Trump<\/a><\/p>\nAnthony Albanese and Donald Trump were all smiles as they inked a $3 billion critical minerals deal touted as a good deal for all. But has Australia drawn the short end of the stick?<\/p>\n
Federal Minister for Resources Madeleine King previously claimed changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act would not jeopardise Alcoa’s project.<\/p>\n
The company currently has two expansion proposals before the state’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA).<\/p>\n
The gallium processing and extraction was not part of the assessments before the authority.<\/p>\n
Ms King described the project as “a confluence of worlds coming together” when visiting the site alongside Mr Albanese on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Environmental concerns<\/p>\n
Speaking to media earlier in the day, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt urged the Opposition to put aside its infighting over climate policies, with the next few days viewed as critical to landing a deal on the proposed reforms to update the EPBC Act.<\/p>\n
Labor cannot get laws passed without either the Greens or Coalition in the Senate.<\/p>\n
![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0093f97fb6ba0437b40e0f2154291417\")
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese takes a selfie with a local in Bunbury’s city centre.\u00a0 (ABC News: Pip Waller)<\/p>\n
Senator Watt said WA was lagging behind the rest of the country when it came to “on-time” approvals under the current legislation.<\/p>\n
He said the data was proof WA needed the national laws fixed urgently.<\/p>\n
![\"Murray](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/d7423b429f5446714b9cbfb8d4ed1f52\")
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Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt, left, is pictured with Bunbury MP Don Punch. (ABC News: Pip Waller)<\/p>\n
“There is every reason for the coalition to be supporting these reforms,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I have said for some time now that I’m a realist when it comes to getting legislation through the Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I recognise that we will need to make some amendments to the legislation as we’ve introduced it to get it through.”<\/p>\n
![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1d5f37f900b24711667508ef52cbe3bc\")
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held his federal cabinet meeting at the City of Bunbury on Tuesday. (ABC News: Pip Waller)<\/p>\n
WA Premier Roger Cook, who successfully persuaded the Prime Minister to delay the reforms until after the election, expressed his support on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“We believe there is a balance that can be struck between supporting industry while protecting our incredible environment and I think Murray Watt’s doing a great job trying to find that balance,” he said.<\/p>\n
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