Whyalla Steelworks Support Motion

That this council—

1. Expresses its steadfast support for the people of Whyalla, in particular, to the workers of Whyalla Steelworks and the many businesses which rely on it;
2. Recognises that Whyalla is critical to sovereign Australian steel, producing 75 per cent of Australian structural steel and providing for several thousand people; and
3. Commits to working to secure the long-term future of Whyalla.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (11:38): 

I rise to support this motion, to stand in solidarity with the people of Whyalla. Yesterday, we saw something completely unprecedented in the South Australian parliament. Yesterday, an urgent meeting was called by the Malinauskas Labor government. I was briefed at 10.30am, with other members of the crossbench, by the Premier, the Minister for Energy and Mining and the Leader of the Government in this place, and we were asked to work with the government to allow the immediate passage of the Whyalla Steel Works (Charge on Property) Amendment Bill.

Changes to the Whyalla Steel Works Act were rushed through both houses of state parliament on Wednesday morning, before being signed off by the South Australian Governor. Not one of us disputed the necessity of such swift action and completely understood the need for the steelworks' workers, suppliers, local businesses and broader South Australian community to have certainty about the future of the Whyalla Steelworks.

Under an extraordinary set of circumstances, all 69 members of parliament worked in unison to pass the changes to legislation that allowed the Malinauskas Labor government to place OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Ltd into administration because we all know how much is at stake if the steelworks collapses. It was not just about backing the government's plan; it was about protecting the people and businesses of Whyalla, safeguarding jobs, livelihoods, our state's economy and the remnants of manufacturing in South Australia.

Questions remain, though, about how and why we got to this point where such unprecedented and rushed actions were necessary. GFG Alliance has been in financial difficulties for some time, as mentioned by other honourable members, and the steelworks has been in crisis for months, with well documented issues around the blast furnace and failure to pay tens of millions of dollars of royalties and water bills, let alone delays in paying workers' wages and owing significant debts to the vast range of local businesses and suppliers.

Let us also not forget that it was the previous Labor government who heralded GFG and Sanjeev Gupta as the saviour of the steelworks that would provide the solutions Whyalla needed after the steelworks was last placed into administration in 2016. Some of the questions included: was due diligence undertaken at that time? Were there really no rumblings of the financial challenges facing GFG? The Hon. Frank Pangallo canvassed and mentioned his suspicions from the very start. Alarms have been ringing constantly since September last year, with secret talks and no assurances from the government until this legislation was sprung on Parliament at the final hour.

It is, of course, unacceptable for the steelworks' operation to be compromised and it is also unacceptable for that situation to be allowed to deteriorate to this extent; however, today I want to support this motion and welcome this motion to allow members of the Legislative Council to provide reassurance and steadfast support for the people of Whyalla, particularly the workers and their families and the many businesses that rely on the viability of the Whyalla steel industry.

I thank the government for taking that leadership. It is critically important that the government is now doing everything possible to secure the long-term viability and sustainability and provide a brighter future for Whyalla. I commend the motion.