Question Time

Whyalla Steelworks

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): My question is to the Premier. I actually told the students what I was going to ask the Premier, so I hope no-one tweeted him. Can the Premier update the house on the continuing situation at the Whyalla Steelworks, including any change to the situation in the past fortnight?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:04): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question—it's actually a really important one because the steelworks obviously isn't just critical for the people of Whyalla, it's actually critical for the nation. The Whyalla Steelworks is the only producer of significant structural steel, particularly for the purposes of rail, in the country and we need to be able to have a secure, sovereign supply of those materials for the betterment of our nation's economy.

The state government is concerned about the developments we have seen over the course of the last couple of weeks at the Whyalla Steelworks. I understand, from memory, it's not the first occasion that this has been raised during the course of this forum. Over the last fortnight, the state government has been in receipt of further advice both from GFG but also independent experts that the state government has commissioned to provide us with updates on the status of the works at Whyalla.

The advice that we have received is that the blast furnace, which, of course, is the most delicate and critical piece of capital at the steelworks, will eventually get back to full capacity. It is anticipated that that will happen during the course of the first half of this year, but there have been delays to the exercise with some complications that have occurred throughout the journey, with the taphole process not being executed in the way that was originally anticipated.

This has had a deleterious consequence on workers at GFG, at the steelworks. We have seen overtime, which was something that had become almost customary for so many employees at the steelworks, lost. We have also seen changes to shifts and operations, which has meant workers are not working in the way they traditionally have in the past, which, in turn, has had a pretty severe consequence on their take-home pay and their wages. That, of course, has implications on families and then in turn the Whyalla economy more broadly.

We seek to remain engaged with GFG. We are grateful for the collaboration that GFG have sought, not just with the government but also with other steel operators around the country, particularly BlueScope Steel, to ensure that they are procuring the best experts in the nation around how to address the delicate situation with the blast furnace.

This is something that the government is keeping abreast of on a frequent basis, if not daily basis. The Minister for Mining and Energy, who of course is currently overseas, in Europe, in no small part is there because of works related to GFG, meeting with Danieli, who of course is due to supply GFG with the electric arc furnace which is critical to its ambitions of decarbonisation.

The state government is very bullish about the future of Whyalla. It's exactly why we are investing well north of $500 million in the brand-new green hydrogen project, our Hydrogen Jobs Plan. It's also why we are so engaged on the opportunities around green iron production through the State Prosperity Project. We are confident that whatever happens with GFG themselves will not deter the government from realising its ambitions for a green energy powerhouse being based in and around the Upper Spencer Gulf through hydrogen and green iron production, through the abundant source of renewables that this state is so blessed to have, as a result of the leadership that this government shows and others that have come before us.