Interview on 2HD with Richard King

RICHARD KING, HOST: Well, they put out a press release, the Coalition will change the law to help Tomago, Whyalla, Boyne and bring back the manufacture of structural steel. This was the National's leader speaking yesterday –

[GRAB]

SENATOR CANAVAN: Had a pretty sad week when it comes to the industrial capacity of our nation. Losing our last blast furnace for good that can produce structural steel. That means that we won't be able to make in the future the kind of steel that holds up buildings, bridges, builds railway lines from scratch. That won't be able to happen.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan in the press release, they say the Coalition will introduce legislation to help both the Whyalla Steelworks blast furnace and bring back the manufacture of structural steel, as well as help the Tomago Aluminium smelter and Queensland's Boyne aluminium smelter by fast tracking critical energy projects and reversing Labor's changes that hold back critical projects. Well, with more on that and an opposing view, joining me now is our Federal Industry Minister, Tim Ayres. Good morning, Tim.

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: Oh, g'day, Richard. Really good to be on the show.

HOST: Yeah. But not happy with what the Coalition’s had to say. Well, firstly, Whyalla? I think a lot of people are questioning why both the Federal and State Governments poured a hell of a lot of money into Whyalla and yet still that blast furnace is shut down and the whole place is going to close. What was the point of pouring all the money into it, Tim?

AYRES: Well, there's a couple of things to say about that, Richard. The first thing is despite what Matt Canavan and the Liberals and Nationals and One Nation say, Whyalla is not going to close. There is a nearly $3 billion package there that is there to make sure that we support the administration. We're intervened and taken the facility off the owner because they'd run it into the ground. It's an important national capability. We have delivered an administration. The large part of that facility – the rolling mills, the mine, the Port, the infrastructure – is all still running, there are hundreds and hundreds of workers who are engaged in this. What I object to about what Matt Canavan and Liberals and Nationals and One Nation have done here is they've deliberately misunderstood the problem and they're telling lies, like bald-faced lies about the causes of the problem at the blast furnace. And their solution, their so-called solution would lead to the closure of the whole facility. We are working really hard – but put aside what the Government is doing – hundreds of workers in that outback industrial town working for, you know, getting up much earlier than these Canberra politicians get out of bed, working day in, day out to try and stabilise a blast furnace and a steel facility that had hundreds of safety and engineering defects when the governments and the administrators, it was –

HOST: Well just on that they've said they cannot restart that coal-fired blast furnace. So, it's cactus. So, it's no good. Is that right?

AYRES: Yeah, look, it is. This is a problem that's been foreseen. Workers, the administrator unions, the two governments have thrown everything at this. There wouldn't be anybody in that facility – if you actually took the time as a politician who pretends to care about manufacturing like Matt Canavan and all these others do – to actually talk to people who are involved in this, to think about and to work with people on the actual solutions. He claims that the failure of the blast furnace has got something to do with energy prices. That is utter garbage. Utter garbage. It's a deliberate misinformation campaign. The blast furnace is buggered because it's been run into the ground. And if you know anything about the steel industry, blast furnaces need relining, big maintenance programs, every decade they need a relining. It hasn't happened because the owner disinvested and was neglectful and that's the problem that Australians are trying to solve. And why is Matt Canavan running interference for a British billionaire?

HOST: Ok. As I understand it too, there are a number of parties that are interested in buying it. And you said that package is still there, which I think is billions and if and when the new owner takes over, that money will be there for them to put in an electric arc furnace, is that correct?

AYRES: Yeah, that's exactly right. We are working through, it's an orderly process. We're down to two buyers. BlueScope with a consortium of steelmakers is there with a right of final offer. Now we're doing the hard work of working with the proponents and to deliver the best pit-to-port outcome because a future structural steel capability is really important for Australia. We're not using workers as props in a political argument. We're getting on with the job, just the same as Tomago. 

HOST: Okay, so as soon as the sale goes through and you're confident that it will, there will be a new owner of the Whyalla steelworks. And once that happens, it might take, you know what, a couple of years, but steel manufacturing will come back to Whyalla?

AYRES: Yeah, there are years of hard slog here to come because that's what it takes to build the country. There will be steel being produced by the rolling mills for, there is rolling mill capability there. They will continue to produce structural steel. A point that Senator Canavan has missed because it doesn't suit his, the kind of political argument that him and One Nation make. They will continue to make structural steel. They'll be supported in that endeavour because it's important for the country that intervention in Whyalla was absolutely central to our Future Made in Australia approach securing current heavy industrial capability just the same as Tomago. And the argument that One Nation and the Nationals and the Liberals make about Tomago is just as dishonest.

HOST: Ok. Good to talk to you as always, Tim. I better leave it there. But yeah, appreciate your time this morning.