Visiting Whyalla a day after the South Australian Government forced the steelworks into administration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a $2.4 billion rescue package.
Speaking to workers at the Whyalla steelworks, Albanese said the federal government intended to go “dollar for dollar” with the state government in its relief efforts.
Related article: Steelworks administration fuels doubt over Whyalla hydrogen
“Our greatest resource is the people I see before me today—it is our workforce, our skilled workforce with the capacity that we have,” the Prime Minister said.
“Together with our respective cabinets of how we make sure that we give you certainty—that we say, not only will you have a job, your kids will have a job in the future.”
On Wednesday, the South Australian Government forced GFG, the owner of the Whyalla steelworks, into administration after it failed to pay tens of millions of dollars in royalty payments to the government, and owing millions in unpaid debt to creditors and workers.
KordaMentha has been appointed as administrator.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the government was forced to act swiftly due to not only to GFG’s debts of more than $300 million but workers not being paid.
News of the steelworks’ administration has added to growing doubts about the viability of the SA Government’s $593 million Whyalla hydrogen power facility, which was scheduled to begin construction this year for commissioning in 2026.
Related article: South Australia’s 200MW Whyalla hydrogen plant approved
The state government has committed more than half a billion dollars to the Hydrogen Jobs Plan to build a world leading hydrogen power plant, electrolyser and storage facility near Whyalla.
The 200MW renewable hydrogen power plant will be a new source of flexible power, providing additional grid stability for homes and businesses around the state by using excess renewable energy generated from large-scale wind and solar farms to provide a consistent output of supply.
