Resources Technology Showcase: Joe Hockey sure there's a deal to be done with Trump on critical minerals

West Australian

2 hours ago

Former US ambassador Joe Hockey has attested he 'knows there is a deal to be done' between US President Trump and Australia's critical minerals riches, in a sobering interview where he also divulged how an assassination attempt changed the world leader.
As Australia's man in Washington during Trump's first term as President, Mr Hockey had a fron- row seat observing a politician he now believes could be 'the most powerful and influential figure in American politics since Teddy Roosevelt'.
And despite Australian PM Anthony Albanese's difficulties in securing a meeting with Mr Trump, the former Federal treasurer is convinced there is scope for a deal with Uncle Sam involving rare earths supplies and battery minerals.
'Modern militaries, modern national security, is defined by the reliability and innovation in its supply chain,' he told the Resources Technology Showcase on Tuesday.
'There is a deal to be done with President Trump, I know this, on critical minerals. He wants Australia to be party to that. We have a number of legislative advantages in Washington, DC that put us to the top of the list.'
After a career that included serving as treasurer in the Abbott government, Mr Hockey founded lobbying and advisory firm Bondi Partners in Washington DC, where he currently lives, in early 2020.
Despite being on the other side of the political aisle to Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King, Mr Hockey backed in the Labor Government's approach to shoring up local supplies and building up processing capacity on home soil.
Ms King had delivered a speech earlier at the Perth forum pushing back against industry critics of downstream processing.
The Federal Government has poured significant funding into trying to build Australia's ability to mine and process its minerals into more valuable products.
It released a pre-election policy promising a $1.5 billion national offtake scheme to buy a yet-to-be specified list of rare earths from Australian miners.
The policy was triggered by inflamed tensions between the world's two global superpowers, which swung the spotlight around to whether Western countries can break China's stronghold on mining and refining rare earths — a group of valuable minerals critical for making magnets used in iPhones, missiles and electric vehicles.
'Madeleine King is absolutely on mark with this,' Mr Hockey said, commending the Albanese Government's push to bolster Australia's downstream muscle.
'In the US, processing is agony. Building anything in the United States is agony.
'A Virginia Class submarine has two tonnes of critical minerals in it, most of it coming from China . . . an F35 fighter jet . . . has 500 kilos of critical minerals, a lot of it coming out of China.
'If we process and compete with China, that's important.'
As for his recommendations for securing a meeting with the US President, Mr Hockey said 'you've got to know what buttons to push . . . I think Anthony Albanese can do that'.
While Mr Hockey was optimistic about Australia's rare earths future, he delivered a sobering take on the future of Ukraine's riches under the ongoing assault of Russia.
'The Donbas region, it's 30 to 40 per cent of critical minerals, rare earths and resources of Ukraine,' he said.
'I'd be surprised if Russia doesn't end up getting that region, which makes Australia's supply chain even more important.'
Over in Washington, Mr Hockey's former haunt, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier attended a high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump.
European leaders, including UK Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian PM, Giorgia Meloni, were in tow for a secondary meeting.
Afterwards President Trump said via social media that he would provide co-ordination between Mr Zelensky and Russian rival Vladimir Putin, but stopped short of any further intervention.
Mr Hockey did not indicate either way on Tuesday whether he believed there could be a deal struck from here. 'What Trump has done is he's dealt himself in (to discussions) he didn't want to deal himself in,' he said. 'The fact that Trump is engaged is hugely important.'
Mr Hockey also volunteered an insight or two into his personal relationship with Mr Trump.
That extended into playing golf — observed as a common past-time for the world leader.
Mr Hockey quickly shot down any insinuation that he would let Mr Trump win, but admitted that playing against him was 'incredibly stressful' nonetheless. 'When he plays he's very competitive. He does not cheat.'
He volunteered that he had spoken with the President days after an attempt on his life last July. The harrowing event had changed the world leader compared with the man he worked with in his first term between 2016 and 2020.
'Profoundly, I spoke to him after the assassination attempt,' Mr Hockey shared with the audience. Pried for further details Mr Hockey said the incident had had 'a big effect'.
'He's not a religious person. . . he really believes he's got a job to do. He's outcomes focused, he doesn't care about process . . . but he is very focused on outcomes, and he is very determined to change America.'