Arrium

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:33): I will unexpectedly get up and speak on this side. I am looking forward to the next instalment. I have to say that the cabinet visits that I have been involved in—and there have been three of them now—have all been, I would have to say, pretty positive affairs that went over very well. Sometimes there are costs associated with these trips. The cost in going up to the APY lands and the logistics behind it would have been significant. I am not sure if there is an argument being put that we should not go to places like the APY lands in my electorate because it is costly. I think it is incredibly important to go to places like the APY lands and meet with people face to face. There is no substitute for being on the lands and meeting with people.

What I want to talk about in the time that I have left is the step-by-step progress that is being made in relation to the future of Whyalla, the integrated steelworks and the mines at Whyalla. A big step has been made. We are down to the final bidder, the Korean consortium, and I hope that we are going to have a final sign-off and a new owner in the not too distant future.

I am always very mindful in my community, given what we have been through, of building expectations. There is always a need to emphasise that, even though we are down to the final bidder, we do not have the sign-off, that there are a number of things that need to happen: it has to go before the Foreign Investment Review Board—I am fairly confident it will get through that process—and there has to be a creditors meeting.

For those of us in this house, one of the important elements, and the important element for the state and federal governments, is what the final assistance package for the steelworks will look like. All the way through this process, from before the administrators were appointed, I have had a lot of confidence that the Premier, the Treasurer and the cabinet have got the back of the Whyalla community. Throughout this process, I have been left in no doubt that we are going to be there to ensure that we get the best outcome possible for the people of Whyalla and for the future of the structural steel industry in this country.

It has been left to the state government to provide leadership, leadership that in circumstances like this normally comes from a federal government. I am fairly confident that the federal government will come to the party. I am confident that they have an understanding of the circumstances the Whyalla community would face if there were a closure of the steelworks. I am also confident that they appreciate the national significance of this industry, the strategic importance of the structural steel industry in Australia.

We do not want to be put in a position, as a major iron ore producer, of being almost totally dependent upon overseas suppliers for something as foundationally important as structural steel. I think that is why there has been significant backing in the private sector to ensure that there will be a future for structural steelmaking in Australia.

Some of the things that have been floated in relation to the bid from the Korean consortium, if they come to pass, will be incredibly positive for Whyalla, for the region and for the state. If that investment flows into a fundamental transformation in the iron-making process in Whyalla and, as part of that transformation in the iron making process, a major cogeneration unit is established in Whyalla, it will be incredibly good news indeed and it might well turn Whyalla into an energy hub along with the solar projects that are happening at the moment.