Originally published by Helen Trinca of The Australian.
10.07.2026
Former NSW premier and now senior BHP executive Dominic Perrottet has warned Australia’s critical mineral industry that countries such as Argentina are becoming increasingly attractive for an Australian company such as BHP to invest in.
On the sidelines of a London conference on Thursday, he told The Australian that many countries were now offering greater long-term certainty in terms of environmental and labour standards and tax and other regulations, and said Australia could not “rest on its laurels”.
“Don’t think that past success necessarily indicates future success,” he said. “As the world has this much greater focus on resources … capital will flow to those jurisdictions that have the most competitive settings.”
Mr Perrottet, who is now based in Washington as vice-president of international affairs and the US at BHP, was a panellist at a session that looked at the future of the critical minerals industry, which was part of the annual conference of the think tank, Chatham House.
He said Australia could learn from other countries in terms of the regulatory framework for the industry. “You’re seeing many jurisdictions now, particularly in the Americas, Latin American countries, like Argentina [where BHP has a big critical minerals operation] where you’ve got decades-long, regulatory certainty, tax certainty,” MrPerrottet said.
“All that provides the comfort, when you’re making these long-term investments, that you’re going to get a steady return on your investment.”
These countries were “really picking up in terms of the way they’re setting those standards, making greater certainty, which drives investment and becomes more attractive to an Australian company like BHP to invest in”.
He said Australia didn’t necessarily need less regulation but rather it needed the “right regulatory environment”.
BHP had the highest environmental and labour standards in the world, he said: “You want everyone to be lifted up to that standard, but you also want to be in an environment where you’ve got that long-term certainty, the rules aren’t changing as you go.”
He told the conference that Australia’s strong mining tradition and success meant it could play a role in sharing information and its expertise globally, “but Australia can learn as well. And particularly from a regulatory perspective, when you look around the world in terms of how other nations are really progressing in this space.”
Australia could also learn from others about how to drive innovation, “get projects off the ground faster” and offer long-term regulatory certainty because “when capital is constrained you are very deliberate around where those investments are going to be made”.
Mr Perrottet said governments had moved beyond talking about the potential of critical minerals to introducing polices, including for financing their development.
“I have certainly seen a much greater co-ordination and interest from the public sector,” he said. “Governments want to provide incentives and support investors, but [they] need to make sure that they are in the right place.
“From our perspective, as a global mining company, I think the more co-ordination, the better.
“There’s a lot that governments can do in terms of sharing information or working together. Different governments are facing different challenges … but sharing information, working together, will lead to better outcomes.
“There are gaps in the market. But the more certainty, the better. When you’re in the mining sector you’re making investments that stand for decades.
“There are challenges, obviously, with commodity cycles, with inflation, market volatility. So from our perspective, having certainty in terms of the regulatory environment, taxation and royalties over a longer period of time … helps drive better competition, better standards, and more capital investment across the board.”