Labor is calling on Malcolm Turnbull to help secure Arrium’s future and stand up for Australian jobs by immediately matching Labor’s election commitment of a $100 million investment in Arrium.
Today, the Opposition Leader will be meeting with Arrium OneSteel workers in Adelaide who have been waiting anxiously for months to find out if their jobs are safe.
The company needs an additional immediate $50 million Government investment to ensure the vitally important Australian steelmaking industry is secure into the future.
South Australia needs to be attracting new manufacturing jobs and investment, not losing them.
Labor committed a total of $100 million in federal funding for Arrium during the recent election, comprised of $50 million in co-investment grants, $50 million in finance through the Export Finance & Insurance Corporation (EFIC), to be delivered alongside $50 million from the South Australian Government.
This would give Arrium the big investments in capital equipment it needs to protect its future and ensure its profitability to allow a new owner to keep the doors open and the workers employed.
It’s time for the Turnbull Government to meet this commitment.
Arrium currently employs over 7,000 workers, including about 3,500 in South Australia. Arrium’s workers and the administrator have been working hard to turn the company around and protect those jobs since the company went into administration in April this year.
The best Malcolm Turnbull has offered Arrium is a loan – this is not good enough – the Government must commit the $50 million Arrium needs to match Labor’s election commitment to stand up for local steel jobs.
Labor won’t leave Australian steel workers to struggle alone in the face of the global pressures bearing down on their industry.
No amount of flowery rhetoric about excitement and innovation will support the future of Australian steel and Australian steel jobs. Labor understands that standing up for Australian jobs means protecting the ones people are working in right now.
In just a fortnight’s time, local car manufacturers in South Australia and Victoria will begin closing their doors after Liberals goaded them into leaving Australia.
Arrium must not be allowed to follow them out the door.
WEDNESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2016
