Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returned home from his official US visit with a belly full of sarsaparilla-braised short ribs and a string of announcements under his belt.
Amid the glitz and glamour, the spotlight during the visit was on Australia’s critical minerals sector. Albanese and US President Joe Biden unveiled a multi-billion-dollar plan to bolster Australia’s domestic minerals industry to address supply chain vulnerabilities and counter China’s market dominance.
Yet, while Albanese and Biden framed the investment as key to the future of an “innovation alliance” between the two countries, a key benefit was lost in the messaging: its utility to clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles.