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Paterson says the Coalition is unclear on government plans for a critical minerals stockpile, but supports “any sensible steps that represent an economic for Australia and an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are a good alliance partner of the United States”.
Paterson was asked about whether the Coalition would support the government’s plan for a critical minerals stockpile, in the context of an Australia offer to leverage access to these resources in return for the US dropping tariffs against Australia.
We’ve got three years to outline exactly what we could spend that money on. But there’s plenty of good advice out there in open source that suggests areas of investment.
One is spending to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis facing the ADF. Another is to make sure that we have the munitions stockpile that we would need to survive a conflict, God forbid, if that should break out.
It’s seven months on since the president was elected. And other world leaders like Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have made the trip to the United States and met with the president multiple times in multiple forums. The Australian prime minister has not yet done so.
