GFG Alliance

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:48): My question is again to the Premier. What action, if any, is the Premier taking to address access to the Whyalla wharf? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr PATTERSON: It was reported in The Advertiser today that companies operating in the region were struggling after losing vital access to the wharf operated by Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of GFG Alliance.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:48): Yesterday I took the time, again with the member for Giles, to meet firsthand those that are reliant upon access to the port to be able to get their product to international markets. The Whyalla port does not exclusively export iron ore or steel product from the Middleback Range: others use that port as well. As reported in the paper today, there have been issues around third party access to the port. There were processes in place that saw that run smoothly until more recently around complications of GFG not paying their contractors and the operator at the port, and those that service it, Horizon and Qube amongst others.

The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Energy and Mining has been engaging with many of those companies, as have representatives of my office, people in the Premier's office as well. More recently, there has been an impasse that has been broken through a temporary solution that has been welcome for at least some of those, and I am not going to disclose the names of those businesses in this forum, but that is a welcome reprieve that has been arrived at in recent days that we are grateful for, and we will monitor that over the days ahead.

Needless to say, the minister and the government are of the view that a port is a critical piece of infrastructure. It is currently owned by Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd, which fits under the GFG umbrella, and we will continue to monitor the situation very closely. Again, in full public view for anyone that goes to the top of Hammock Hill or catches a plane into Whyalla, you will see ships in the port that are sitting there, getting paid very large sums of money by other parties, often, who are losing that every single day.

In fact, the numbers are eye-watering in terms of how much money it costs every day for those ships to be sitting there idle, paid for by someone who wants to get product to market, and that comes at the expense of businesses and whoever underwrites those businesses. It is exceptionally inefficient and unproductive for the state when we do not see product that is ready to get to market being unable to do so simply because GFG hasn't been in a position to pay its contractors appropriately.

At least one group that I met with personally actually pre-pays for those services to Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd only for that money to then not be expended on the contractors on the ground to do the work, and that is unacceptable. It again demonstrates the severity of the situation at GFG that has the government so concerned. To GFG's credit, as I said, an impasse there has got a temporary solution. That is to their credit and we are grateful to hear that news, and we will monitor it very closely over the days and weeks ahead.