Interview with James Glenday, ABC News Breakfast

JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Minister for Industry and Innovation, Tim Ayres, joins us from Bell Bay in Tasmania. Minister, welcome back to the program. What are you announcing today?

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: Well, today is a very important intervention for the Northern Tasmanian economy. An intervention that protects the Bell Bay Aluminium smelter. 550 direct jobs, around 1,000 indirect jobs. Blue collar engineering workers here. You can imagine how much these jobs matter for this region. It's a joint intervention between the Albanese Government and the Tasmanian Government and it provides certainty for this facility well into the 2030s.

HOST: We don't even need to imagine it on this show. We were in Launceston a few weeks back and there was a lot of concern about this. A lot of calls for you to intervene. What should taxpayers more generally make of this $200 million investment? What return will the people who pay tax in Australia get from this?

AYRES: Well, what this delivers is it further buttresses Australia's heavy industrial capacity. So, the national interest question, it is the right thing to do. But secondly, of course the value of these jobs in the Tasmanian economy is immense. We have, and I have, as the Minister, urged the Tasmanian Government to bring forward the most competitive electricity deal possible. They have done that work, in cooperation with us, and we have intervened to make sure, that on top of that work, that this facility is able to continue. That means an enormous amount for the Tasmanian economy. That means an enormous amount for Australia's industrial future. And it's just one of a series of these interventions where we've had to act, the Albanese Government has had to act, to secure a heavy industrial capability around the country.

HOST: You mentioned it is the latest in the series. I can think of Tomago, of course, what's happening in Whyalla as well in South Australia. Should taxpayers be getting an equity share in some of these projects given the money that has been outlaid, or at least an interest return?

AYRES: Well of course our National Reconstruction Fund does take equity positions in companies in our industrial economy. And each of these deals are calibrated carefully to make sure that we are protecting the fiscal interests of the Government. But most of all they are about making Australia stronger and more resilient. The Albanese Government's Future Made in Australia package is the largest ever pro-manufacturing policy platform in Australian history. It's about securing our current industrial capacity and making sure that we extend the kind of industrial capabilities that Australia needs, and our regional economies in our outer suburbs need, to make our economy strong, look after blue collar jobs, but mean that we've got the capabilities that we need. We saw just this year what happens when Australia, at the end of global supply chains, is impacted by a war in the Strait of Hormuz or by COVID. This is the Albanese Government making sure that we're building our capability so we are more resilient, Australia and Australians more resilient in the future.

HOST: I don't think anyone would disagree with that. I mean where you are is powered by renewable energy, of course is powered by hydropower, which makes it slightly unusual in Australia. I think people though would be wondering, we're spending all this money on these projects, do they ultimately have long-term futures, given that unless we get shut down, that they are more expensive generally than some of their global counterparts?

AYRES: Well, of course Tasmania is different. It has a legacy hydro capacity here, publicly owned, been here since the 1950s. It's quite different to the task on the mainland of reconstructing an ageing and inefficient and costly electricity network. That is the work that Chris Bowen is leading on behalf of the Albanese Government, again on the energy security front, making Australia stronger for the future by building a modern electricity system, reserving our gas, reserving up to 20% of Australian gas, so that heavy industry is more resilient, and our gas prices are decoupled from the global economy. All of these are big steps that we're undertaking to make sure, structurally, we set up Australian industry and Australian energy as a source of competitive advantage for blue collar jobs, and industrial capability for the decades to come.

HOST: You're sort of alluding to it there with blue collar jobs and your repeated references to it. But you're a big union guy. The ACTU this morning wants to slug tech giants with a levy to help fund a local artificial intelligence industry. Is that a good idea?

AYRES: Well, we have announced artificial intelligence standards will be legislated. They will go to –

HOST: Sorry Minister, to interrupt, specifically the idea of a levy. Should they have to pay a levy? Should they hand over some data?

AYRES: Well, I'll come to it. Inside those standards are propositions that go to issues that cross over the ACTU's proposal. So, that is making sure that local SMEs, our local research capability, have got access to that computational power, that compute, to deliver a stronger research and development sector, both public and private, for the future. So, we'll read the ACTU's paper closely. They always make a valuable contribution to our economic and industrial debate. We are focused on legislating so that artificial intelligence investment, which is so important for our resilience and for our industry, arrives here on Australia's terms, in Australia's interest. And that data centres in particular are in the right place. They underpin our energy investments, they support water security and they support good jobs too.

HOST: You sort of talked around the question, but we've got to move on. We're nearly out of time. The Greens leader says he wants to replace Labor. What do you think that means in the Senate? Is it going to be harder to get deals done?

AYRES: Well, it just seems to me that what this means is Senator Shoebridge's aggressive, hyper-partisan style is what he appears to want to continue. I mean, we are focused on representing the interests of working Australians. You know, in places like this, I'm really delivering actual things, not sound bites and platitudes and social media memes. And we're interested in making sure we deliver for Australia and the security and resilience and economic interests of Australians. We won't be focusing on the Greens political party or indeed what's going on with the Nationals and One Nation and the Liberals on the right of Australian politics. We are the only political party, the Albanese Government, that offers stable, careful management of the economy in the country, in the interests of Australians. Dealing with the cost-of-living challenges, focusing on securing our industrial future, building a stronger economy for the future.

HOST: You have to focus on them a little bit though, right? Otherwise you can't get any laws passed. I mean, do you see this is going to make your legislative agenda much harder?

AYRES: Well, we'll work carefully across the Parliament and across the Senate to secure support for legislation that matters in the national interest. We won't engage in kind of slanging matches on television with Senator Shoebridge. You know, we'll focus on the things that matter for working Australians, for people who live in the suburbs and the regions. I mean, people here at Bell Bay. Get up well before any of these characters have been thinking about getting out of bed. They work hard every day and they deserve a government that backs them. And that's what we're doing.

HOST: Tim Ayres, we're out of time. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

AYRES: Thanks, James.