Whyalla Steelworks

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:06): Will the government guarantee that the blast furnace at Whyalla won't be turned off? And what urgent orders have you sought or obtained to assure that outcome?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:07): First and foremost, there is an indenture act that requires the operations of a steelworks to maintain a mining licence. Anyone who attempts to close steelmaking in Whyalla will be in breach of the indenture—a pretty simple equation.

As I have just said, the administration is fully funded. Now, if GFG has fallen into administration because the directors believe that they were trading insolvent and there was no bank—because you might remember, sir, when Arrium went into administration last time, they were in administration and the big four Australian banks were the ones who funded the administration to try to retrieve their debt.

In this situation, tomorrow we will reveal the full extent of the funding, but to say that the administrators are fully funded I have no expectation whatsoever that the blast furnace's closure is imminent in any way. My concern—and you might have noted that the bill that you voted for today gives me the ability to send in experts to examine the health of the blast furnace. We have engaged blast furnace experts. We were denied access by GFG.

Mr Teague interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: You know, if I was going to ask for legal advice, it wouldn't be from you. Alright? I am not trying to dismiss suburban lawyers at all, alright? No. They are very good and they work. They have excellent, excellent, excellent work, right? But what I am talking about is that the administration is fully funded. There is an indenture in place. There are legacy contracts in place.

OneSteel Manufacturing has contractual arrangements in place. The administrators will take control of all the audited accounts, if they exist. They will examine those, they will make assessments about what reporting they make of those. You might also have noticed, if you have read the bill that passed this parliament today, that it gives me the ability to call for audited accounts. I have written numerous letters to directors of GFG asking for audited accounts and access to the blast furnace to make sure it is healthy enough and can be maintained.

As I said in an earlier answer to a question, what sent a real shiver up my spine was on Friday when I was informed by a creditor, that had a long legacy of debt with GFG, and had been paid in advance for oxygen supplies to the blast furnace, that that supply of oxygen was becoming precarious. That meant that the government was now aware that even the smallest steps that were critical to the operation of the blast furnace were now becoming under threat. Cheap shots from the chief seats about this is unfair.

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader has a point of order.

Mr TEAGUE: Standing order 98: the Premier said not more than a few minutes ago that this was the time to be open and transparent. The simple question is: can he give a guarantee that the blast furnace will not be stopped and has he got orders to assist to that end? He hasn't answered that question.

The SPEAKER: I think the minister has been answering the question.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The administration is fully funded. The first calls we made were to the workers who support the blast furnace and what we have said to them is to only take instructions from the administrators and preserve and protect the blast furnace at all costs. As time goes on, people will become aware of the government's heightened concern about the blast furnace and we maintain that the blast furnace is integral to the operation of Whyalla.