Ministerial Statement

Arrium

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:09): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I would like to inform the house that on 13 July the committee of creditors for Arrium approved the sale of the steel and mining group to the London-based GFG Alliance. On 6 July, federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison, signed off on the foreign investment approval for the sale. Deed administrator KordaMentha has set 31 August as the target date for the formal completion of the sale, which requires the approval of the transition of workers compensation coverage to the GFG Alliance and finalising the accounting restructure of Arrium.

KordaMentha is now working to complete a report to all creditors that will be provided after the completion of the sale. Mr Speaker, you would be aware that, following the approval of the sale, Mr Sanjeev Gupta visited Whyalla and spoke to workers, management and, through a televised news conference, the South Australian community about his vision for Whyalla. After 16 months in administration, Mr Gupta's belief in the future of Whyalla and the capacity of South Australia to expand its role as a world-class steelmaker is extremely welcome.

His enthusiasm for Whyalla and his acknowledged experience in successfully turning around steelmakers in the United Kingdom, through his company, Liberty House, provides me and the government with confidence Arrium will emerge stronger from this very difficult period. To quote a news release issued by GFG Alliance, Mr Gupta has pledged to work with management, staff and unions to forge a sustainable future for the whole Arrium business in Australia. In the statement, Mr Gupta said, and I quote:

The unanimous decision of the creditors' committee puts an end to a period of prolonged uncertainty for the Arrium workforce.

It allows them to look more confidently to the future as they become a part of our large and multi-skilled alliance of international businesses.

The South Australian government, through the Steel Taskforce, is committed to working with GFG Alliance to better understand the investment proposals envisaged in transforming the Whyalla business. We look forward to further updating the house, as we continue to work with the alliance.

I again thank the member for Giles, for his steadfast support for his local community, and the Mayor of Whyalla, the Hon. Lyn Breuer, for her support for the government's efforts to secure the future of this pillar industry for the state and the nation. I give personal thanks to the commonwealth government, especially its industry minister, who did an exceptional job of working in a bipartisan way with the South Australian government. Mr Sinodinos is a class act. I also want to thank Mr Rowan Ramsey for the exceptional work he did in supporting the workers at Arrium in conjunction with the member for Giles.