Steel Industry

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:03): Mr Speaker, my question is to the Minister for State Development. Can the minister inform the house of the latest antidumping decisions to support the local steel industry?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:03): Thank you very much, sir, and I thank the member for Giles for his question. I do not think there is a person in Whyalla or this house who does not recognise his commitment to Arrium steelmaking. The Anti-Dumping Commission has already determined that dumped steel products from China appear to have caused material injury to the Australian steelmaking industry. This has led the commission to impose duties on those imports to protect local steelmakers from unfair competition. Unfortunately, a not-too-common practice for importers hit by a duty is to find some way of getting around the impost. This is known as circumvention and usually means slightly altering a product such as steel by adding an alloy and claiming it is no longer subject to that duty.

Last Friday, the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science (Hon. Christopher Pyne) and the Assistant Minister for Science (Hon. Karen Andrews) announced anticircumvention measures had been taken against foreign steel importers who had been avoiding antidumping duties by slightly modifying their products. I congratulate the minister, and the government welcomes that decision.

We on this side of the house are standing up for the steel industry in South Australia, and I welcomed the imposition of duties against dumped steel and said I would fully support any further measures the Anti-Dumping Commission chooses to take to prevent unfair competition. This announcement signals that the commonwealth has been listening. There is no denying that we have been calling for trade remedies to prevent local steelmakers being hurt by unfair practices.

Unfair competition from imported steel 'dumped' at prices below the cost of production, or heavily subsidised by government, is a major threat to our local steelmakers. We cannot be a nation that exports iron ore at the expense of our own steel industry, and that is why we have mandated Australian Standard steel for government projects and initiated an accreditation scheme to certify that, if a product says it is Australian Standard steel, that is precisely what it is. We have repeatedly called on other states and territories to follow our lead and ensure the highest standards on their projects.

As I have said before, and will always say, I am in favour of free trade as long as it is fair trade. I congratulate minister Pyne and assistant minister Andrews on this announcement. I look forward to the outcome of the inquiry initiated last month by minister Pyne into imported steel from Asia and any further measures Australia can adopt to prevent unfair trade hurting our local industries. The report is due to be handed to the minister by the Anti-Dumping Commission by 4 April, and I will update the house on the findings. I support these ongoing investigations and will continue to advocate strongly that we ensure Australian steelmakers and fabricators are not forced to compete on an uneven playing field.

The SPEAKER: I call to order the members for Florey, Davenport and Chaffey.

Ms Bedford: Florey?

The SPEAKER: Yes, Florey. Unmistakable. I warn the members for Stuart and Schubert and I warn for the second and the final time the leader, the member for Stuart and the member for Schubert. Leader.