Governor says Hedland has an exciting future

WA Governor Kim Beazley has underscored the important role Port Hedland plays in the nation’s economy, a role he said was going to become even more vital with the world moving towards clean energy.

In a speech to reopen the Gratwick Hall in Port Hedland last Monday, he said the town was about to become critically important to “the fourth industrial revolution” because of the minerals in the region.

“All these minerals — the lithium and rare earths and cobalt — which are critical to where the world is going to go, we are the reliable suppliers, and we can be approached because we have huge resources,” he said. Mr Beazley said it was essential to develop the town because it is the business end of Australia.

“This is what makes us valuable to the rest of humanity, and it’s going to be important to nurture, protect and develop it,” he said.

“You are going to see over time the infrastructure, social and physical appearance of this region intensify as the world responds to those possibilities.”

Later in his visit, Mr Beazley spent time at the new Port Hedland Clontarf Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which assists in the education and employment of young indigenous men. The Governor continued his message of a big future for the region when he spoke with local high school students in attendance.

“You are inhabiting the most important area in Australia, and it's about to get even more important,” he said.

“You are just about the most interesting people on Earth, you don’t know that, but you are,” he said, referencing the indigenous boys’ ability to straddle the line between their traditional cultures and the western world.

Mr Beazley said the most striking moments from his visit were witnessing salt being loaded at the Port of Port Hedland, seeing the young age of the Cossak Art Awards crowd and being shown a megafauna kangaroo fossil.