Diggers & Dealers 2020: WA Premier Mark McGowan pleads for cool heads amid Australia-China trade ructions

WA Premier Mark McGowan has warned against Australia acting “recklessly” with its major trading partners in a veiled swipe against the Federal Government’s handling of its relationship with China. Addressing nearly 2000 delegates as keynote speaker at the annual Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie, Mr McGowan said strong trading relationships underpinned WA’s prosperity. “While foreign affairs is the domain of the Commonwealth Government, WA will always advocate for sensible alliances and strong relationships because we are a trading State,” he said. “In these tumultuous times, there’s so much we can’t control, but how we publicly act with regard to our trading partners, our customers — we can. “We should always protect our interests, that isn’t in question. But it isn’t in our interests to be reckless to trading relationships that fund the nation. “It’s about acting diplomatically. We need to get on with our major trading partners, whether it is Japan, Korea or China.” Mr McGowan noted WA sold $100 billion worth of products to China each year and bought $4b from the country. “In these difficult and uncertain times, it’s essential to keep trading relationships strong rather than letting them fall victims to disputes,” he said. The Sino-Australia relationship has been fractious in recent times, prompted by Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. The simmering dispute has seen China erect trade barriers against Australia’s exports of barley, beef and wine. But so far, WA’s main export commodity to China — iron ore — has remained immune from sanction. Mr McGowan also congratulated the WA resources sector for its efforts to continue operating throughout the pandemic and supporting the nation’s economy. He said the sector had quickly understood what was at stake with the risk of COVID-19 earlier this year and put in place measures to stop the virus interrupting its operations. “Any single outbreak could have been devastating,” he said. “We kept the industry safe. We moved interstate FIFO here which will have a lasting impact on the WA economy.” Mr McGowan said WA’s resources sector had carried the nation’s economy through the crisis, citing record export sales of $172b last financial year, representing a $22b increase on the $150b registered in 2018-19. Iron ore and gold drove the all-time-high figure, both achieving records in their own right with the steel-making commodity generating $103b in sales (up 26 per cent) and the precious metal delivering $16b (up 32 per cent). Mr McGowan also noted more than $100b was in the resources investment pipeline in WA. “None of this would be possible if WA had fallen victim to the virus,” he said. Mr McGowan encouraged delegates to continue investing in WA, saying it was the best jurisdiction in the world to do business. “WA represents the best place in the world to set up, mine, hire and invest,” he said. “If I was a betting man, I’d be betting big on WA.” Last night, Mr McGowan announced environmental approval for a $600 million expansion of the Kalgoorlie Super Pit. The Fimiston South cutback, by the Super Pit’s new owners, Northern Star Resources and Saracen Mineral Holdings, is expected to generate 700 direct and indirect jobs. The three-day Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum comes at a time of near-record gold prices, seven-year high iron ore prices and bullish sentiment towards so-called forward-facing commodities such as nickel and copper.