Steel Industry

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (15:32): My question is to the Minister for State Development. Can the minister inform the house of the challenges facing Australian steelmakers and any action that can be taken to ensure that we retain this strategic industry here in South Australia?

Ms Chapman: Yes, tell the Minister for Transport to build the O-Bahn out of Australian steel. That would be a good start.

The Hon. J.M. Rankine interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Wright is warned, and the deputy leader will depart under the sessional order and, because she is a repeat offender, for an entire hour.

The honourable member for Bragg having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (15:33): She is destined for bigger things, sir.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is on two warnings.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir. Sorry, I apologise. I thank the member for his question, and continued support of the steel industry and the many workers who rely on Australian-made steel for their livelihood. South Australia's Upper Spencer Gulf is the birthplace of this nation's steel industry. From the iron ore that was first used to feed smelters in Port Pirie and Port Kembla to the establishment of the Whyalla steelworks, South Australia has played a lead role in this industry for more than a century. However, rising imports and, in particular, cheap steel from China dumped—that's right, dumped—at prices below the cost of production are putting enormous pressure on the viability and profitability of local steelmakers. These Australian steelmakers need to be producing at capacity and capturing a significant portion of the domestic market just to fend off this unfair and unprecedented competition.

We welcome the preliminary findings of the Anti-Dumping Commission that dumped steel products from China appear to have caused material injury to the Australian steelmaking industry. The commission has imposed preliminary dumping securities on steel reinforcing bar (rebar) and steel rod in coil imported from China as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of unfair and damaging trade. Any measures that the Anti-Dumping Commission can take to ensure South Australian steelmakers and fabricators have a competitive advantage against lower-quality imports will have this government's full support.

In South Australia, like the rest of the nation, we support our free trade, but it has to be free and fair. Our local steelmakers need the balance restored. That is why in December in Whyalla with Tony Dixon, the chief executive of the Australian Steel Institute, and the local member of parliament, the member for Giles, we announced at the Arrium Steelworks that South Australia would lead the defence of this country's steel industry.

All steelwork procured for public works in South Australia will now be independently tested and certified to Australian standards. Our procurement policies will be revised to specify that steel will have to be sourced from mills with Australasian Certification Authority for Reinforcing and Structural Steel third party certification and that steelwork be supplied from fabricators independently certified to the recently created National Structural Steelwork Compliance Scheme.

While in South Australia we have earmarked $10 billion for public works, this is only a fraction of the $200 billion that is slated for spending on infrastructure across the nation. The recent BIS Shrapnel analysis found that a shift nationally to 90 per cent local supply of steel for public infrastructure would increase annual domestic production to 1.5 million tonnes within the next five years alone. The study found that cumulative production of an additional 3.4 million tonnes during the five-year period would add $4.3 billion to Australia's real GDP. There is only so much that we can do on our own, and that is why we have called a steel summit to be held in Adelaide next week to bring together—

Mr KNOLL: Point of order, Mr Speaker. If you will check your inbox—

The SPEAKER: Yes, I have checked it.

Mr KNOLL: And everything that the minister is about to say is related to that press release.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order. I congratulate the minister's staff on their use of what H.W. Fowler called 'elegant variation' in their construction of this answer. Minister.

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I have not announced that here yet, but I will do it soon. We will be bringing together construction and building companies, industry groups, contractors, architects, steelmakers and fabricators to explain the aims of our steel taskforce and the terms of the new steel procurement policy.

At the summit we will be challenging the commonwealth government and other states to follow our lead to mandate Australian-standard steel and certified steel fabricators for future infrastructure projects. I raised this at the treasurers' conference and there was mixed support for it. There was obviously a balance to be made between procuring steel at an efficient price for taxpayers but also supporting the local industry, and I think we can meet that balance. South Australia and this government will stand up for the steel industry. The industry minister, Mr Chris Pyne, should stand shoulder to shoulder with us, and I encourage him to do so.