The Prime Minister and the Premier have just announced a 2.4 billion dollar industry support package for the Whyalla Steelworks

The announcement was made shortly ago in the Whyalla, which will include:

  • $100 million will go to immediate on the ground support, with $50 million going to creditor assistance payments, $32.6 million going to infrastructure upgrades at the plant and $6 million going to a jobs matching and skills hub. and 384 million going towards stabilising the steelworks.
  • $384 million will be spent by both state and federal government's to fund the operations of the steelworks during administration, which will ensure workers and contractors will have ongoing work that they will be paid for.
  • The remaining 1.9 billion will be an investment in the future as both levels of Government work with a new owner to invest in upgrades and new infrastructure. The administration will be fully funded by the State and Federal Governments.

The Federal Government have also announced a new $1 billion dollar Green Iron fund to boost green iron manufacturing, with up to $500m of the fund has being earmarked to support the "longer term transformation of the steelworks"

The PM says the heart and soul of Whyalla is the steelworks, and that the Federal Government is committed to the future of the steelworks, and has reiterated that a lot of jobs in infrastructure, defence industry (including the shipyards at Osborne), and construction rely on the steelworks in Whyalla. He says the immediate priority is to secure local jobs at the steelworks. The PM also denied that the decisions made had anything to do with the upcoming federal election.

The Premier said that when he told the PM that the steelworks were in trouble last year, before he could finish what he said, the PM asked him how could they help. He says that the state government would pay up to $500 million to local creditors in exchange for them to surrender their dividend they would receive from the administration process. The Premier says that the package is about a long-term investment to ensure that they don't end up in this position again. He reiterated that it is not a bailout, and the GFG's debts are not going away, and that the Government is supporting local businesses to ensure workers still have a job. The Government is not supporting Gupta - his debts still remain, and he will have to deal with his own financial issues. The Premier and PM both did not rule out out nationalising the steelworks, but the Premier said they are confident that the value of the steelworks means that they are confident they can find the right buyer.

John Chapman, industry advocate for SA, has been appointed by the state government as Whyalla's regional coordinator, and will work closely with local businesses in the area to ensure they are supported, as well as creditors.

Yesterday the Parliament rushed through legislation to appoint KordaMentha as the administrators of the Whyalla Steelworks.

Prior to the press conference, the PM and Premier spoke to workers at the plant. The Premier said that there was no way that GFG was going to honour their statuary obligations and put themselves into voluntary administration when it was clear that they could not pay creditors, and if they wanted to do that, it should've probably happened a long time ago. The Premier assured workers that were going to get paid, their future is secured, and that steel will be made in the state and the country for a long time. He also said that Australia could not the worlds biggest exporter of iron ore, or the one of the biggest exports of coal, and cannot put them together to make steel for Australia. He says the nation owes the workers a debt of gratitude.

The Premier said that the PM told him that this time they were going to do the administration properly, they were going to set it up properly for the future, and that both the state and commonwealth governments were going to work together. The PM said that he's been discussing the plant's future for a while, and that not only will they will have a job, but their kids will have a job in the future.

Earlier this morning when speaking to ABC Radio Adelaide, the Premier remained tight lipped about any communication he had with Sanjeev Gupta - https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/adelaide-breakfast/premier-on-gfg-administration/104959306

While on FiveAA, the PM did not explicitly ruled out nationalising the Steelworks if a buyer cannot be found, dodging the question both times he was asked. The Prime Minister will be on ABC Radio Adelaide's Drive program this afternoon. The evenings program will be coming from Whyalla tonight and will be speaking with local residents about their reaction to the developments.