On 20 May, 2025, the Centre was pleased to host the Honourable Madeleine King MP, Minister for Resources and the Minister for Northern Australia.
As a leading exporter of critical minerals, Australia plays a pivotal role in the global energy transition. Not only is this transition essential to tackling the climate crisis, it’s also central to Australia’s long-term economic and strategic interests. However, shifting geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics present challenges to realising these objectives.
Minister King offered her perspective on how Australia can harness its natural resource endowment, technological innovation, and policy frameworks to position itself at the forefront of the global energy transition, while navigating an increasingly complex strategic environment.
Guest speaker
Madeleine King was first elected to Federal Parliament in 2016 as the Member for Brand in Western Australia, and has been re-elected in 2019, 2022 and 2025. She serves as the Minister for Resources and the Minister for Northern Australia. Madeleine previously held the positions of Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs, Shadow Minister Assisting for Small Business, Shadow Minister Assisting for Resources, Shadow Minister for Trade, and Shadow Minister for Resources.
Prior to entering Parliament, Madeleine worked as a solicitor in private practice before moving into the higher education sector as a lawyer and then as Chief of Staff at The University of Western Australia. Madeleine was the founding executive and Chief Operating Officer of the Perth USAsia Centre between 2012 and 2016, where she helped to bring a unique Western Australian perspective to international discussion on Australia’s role in the emerging Indo-Pacific region.
Madeleine has strong personal links with her seat of Brand, which includes the major centres of Rockingham and Kwinana, having grown up in the area and attended local public schools.
Discussion moderator
Dr Kate O’Shaugnessy
Research Director, Perth USAsia Centre
Kate brings to the Centre an academic background in Indonesian language and history, along with 16 years’ experience with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Her public sector experience spans providing policy advice to government on Australia’s interests in the Indian Ocean, to supporting development of the Australian aid budget, to intelligence analysis.
During her diplomatic career, she served in Ghana, as well as deployments to Lebanon, France and Nigeria. Immediately before joining the Centre in 2022, she was Australia’s High Commissioner to Mauritius and Seychelles, and Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros, advocating Australia’s Indo-Pacific vision to stakeholders across the western Indian Ocean.
Roundtables with the Perth USAsia Centre
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