Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to media during a visit to a Goodstart Early Learning centre in Melbourne [Source: AAP Image/Con Chronis]

Mines are being mothballed even as Anthony Albanese calls for a future made in Australia with battery minerals and clean energy – not nuclear – at its heart.

As the world goes for net zero, the resources industry is “front and centre” in the government’s plan for Australia to make the most it, the prime minister will tell a Minerals Week dinner on Monday.

“The global imperative to cut emissions is Australia’s opportunity to grow our economy – and diversify it. That’s what I mean when I talk about a future made in Australia,” he says, according to a copy of his speech.

Making government “a catalyst for new investment in critical minerals at every stage”, the nation will build new industrial centres powered by clean energy.

But sector leaders say red and green tape must be cut and, with energy demand expected to double by 2050, all technologies – including nuclear – will be required to meet future energy needs.

The Minerals Council of Australia has released a plan to support the resource-intensive future, saying there will be no downstream processing or moving up the value chain if barriers to investment continue.

Lithium mines have been mothballed with prices at three-year lows and nickel operations have been suspended amid a market glut for the battery mineral, costing thousands of jobs.

The opposition has slammed proposed production tax breaks for hydrogen and critical minerals as “corporate welfare” and “billions for billionaires”.

But Mr Albanese says “that tough talk tends to drop off as they get closer to workplaces, mines, processing plants and ports.”

With opinion polls on a knife-edge as Mr Albanese and his travelling cabinet woo the sector, he insists the government is “clear about where we stand – whichever part of the country we are in, we are proud to be investing in jobs in the regions.”

“We know tax credits built on rewarding success, in areas crucial to our comparative advantage and economic resilience, serve the national interest,” he says.

“This is about attracting private capital, not replacing it.”

Mr Albanese says companies and communities are no longer acting in the absence of government leadership or in spite of government policy.

“Instead, business, workers and every level of government are working together to lead the way – bringing together resources, energy and manufacturing to secure the economic future of their communities,” he will tell the parliamentary dinner.

“The shift to clean energy is not a theory, or a distant future prospect. It’s happening, right now … the resources industry is helping drive it.”

Creating new jobs in mining, processing and refining, technology and manufacturing will make the most of a unique combination of national strengths – “our sunlight, our skilled workers and our space”, he says.