Whyalla Steelworks

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Industrial Relations a question about the Whyalla steelworks.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: In the other place the Premier yesterday openly admitted his government was concerned about the recent revelations about the steelworks. It is actually grave. Liberty Steel, a subsidiary of Sanjeev Gupta's financially troubled GFG Alliance that owns the plant, has today confirmed the time line for steel production from the plant's proposed new electric arc furnace has blown out by two years to 2027, yet another broken promise from Mr Gupta.

This is a catastrophic kick in the guts for the good people of Whyalla and follows the revelation that the plant's coal-fired blast furnace has been offline for the past eight weeks and is not likely to be fully functioning and producing steel until sometime in July. That is if it has any coke to burn, because I am informed he was unable to pay for a recent shipment and it returned to India.

As the Premier articulated yesterday, the future of the steelworks is a matter of national concern, as it is the only producer of significant structural steel in the country, which needs to have a secure, sovereign supply of steel not only for our future economic growth but also for our national security. Coincidentally, the Minister for Energy and Mining is currently overseas.

It may well be an SOS (save our steelworks), with one of his meetings planned with Danieli, the private Italian-based company making the arc furnace. This is all happening as yet more serious questions are being raised about Mr Gupta's financially troubled global business empire, which saw UK police raid his offices earlier this week and seize documents as part of their fraud investigation. In further disturbing news, I have been informed that creditors in the Czech Republic are now chasing Mr Gupta for $US350 million, hence why Danieli has held up delivering the furnace he has ordered in that country. My questions to the minister are:

1. Are the jobs of hundreds of workers at the steelworks now under threat, or do they face having their wages slashed further due to this delay?

2. When did the government become aware of the latest setback by Mr Gupta?

3. Is Danieli demanding, or is the government offering, a taxpayer bailout of Mr Gupta by providing financial undertakings for the cost of delivering the furnace, which is between €500 million and €700 million, close to a billion Australian dollars, money Mr Gupta doesn't appear to have? If not, why then is the minister visiting Danieli at all?

4. Is the government seeking advice on GFG Alliance's financial state?

5. Is the government planning to take an equity stake in the steelworks to secure its future?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for his question. In relation to my role as Minister for Industrial Relations, as the honourable member is no doubt aware, the state has no role in private sector industrial relations, and hasn't for some time, around the country with referral of powers to the commonwealth government.

In relation to the steelworks in Whyalla, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: this government will stand behind Whyalla and its people. I recall, as a minister in the last government, when there were extremely serious concerns about the future of the steelworks and therefore the jobs of in excess of 1,000 workers directly, I think, in Whyalla, and many more indirectly, the then government, led by Jay Weatherill, stood steadfast behind Whyalla and its people and provided support in a whole range of areas, including providing support for contractors at the steelworks who needed help in terms of cash flow and in making sure that they stayed afloat.

The other thing that the City of Whyalla has in its favour is the member for Giles, Eddie Hughes. He is a fierce advocate for Whyalla and a former steelworker in the steelworks at Whyalla. With a Labor government and a member like Eddie Hughes, I think the people of Whyalla can be assured we will do everything in our power to make sure that that town sees its potential.