More subsidies are not necessary for Australia’s crucial minerals policy since strong projects will attract investment, according to BHP’s CEO on Tuesday, but the nation must speed up mine development timelines and revise new labour rules.

Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, made his remarks a week after Australia, one of the world’s largest producers of raw minerals, described its plan for collaborating with investors and other nations to develop a vital minerals processing sector.

Those who wanted more subsidies, faster regulatory approval times, and amendments to the list of vital minerals criticised the strategy, which aims to make Australia a substantial producer of crucial minerals that are essential to the global energy shift by 2030.

Henry told reporters outside a mining conference in Brisbane that the strategy “is not enough.”

“There’s a big movement underway in the U.S. right now towards permitting reform. Australia needs to do that.”

According to him, the government must address the conflict between local, state, and federal regulations and expedite the permitting process.

Governments at the federal and state levels must concentrate on improving the investment climate in their regions.

“There is enough investment appetite for good projects under the right conditions,” Henry told a mining conference in Brisbane.

“What the Australian resources industry needs is better productivity and fiscal settings,” he said.

It also entails consultation on new legislation, such as adjustments to royalty regimes and labour reforms, and a flexible and productive workforce.

“Under those conditions, the capital will flow.”

Henry cited Queensland as an example of a region where money will not flow, claiming that the state government raised coal royalties there last year without seeking any input from the public, making them the highest in the world.

To entice investment to the state, Queensland on Tuesday unveiled a new crucial minerals development strategy.

According to BHP, the resources sector will need an additional $100 billion in annual capital investments to be back on pace to fulfil the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C scenario.

Henry explained that this translates to four times as much nickel, BHP’s main product, as well as a two-fold increase in copper, steel, and potash demand.

(Adapted from CNBC.com)