‘Thank god he’s out’: Joy over steelworks lifeline
Residents, businesses and unions have reacted following the announcement of a $2.4 billion government package to safeguard the Whyalla steelworks’ future.
A sense of hope and relief has engulfed Whyalla’s residents and businesses, in response to the government’s $2.4 billion support package for its steelworks and creditors.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas announced the package in Whyalla on Thursday, a day after the SA Government rushed legislation through parliament that allowed it to place the steelworks into administration because of the mounting debts of its owners, GFG Alliance.
Jenkins Friendly Grocer owner Georgette Aragon said locals were ecstatic after news that the steelworks, crucial to the future of both the small regional city and the nation’s sovereign steelmaking production, had been saved.
“Oh, my God, this is the best news ever,” she said.
“You should see the people buzzing in and out of here today, they’ve got a spring in their step.
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“We’ve had a lot of customers that lost their jobs, and it was very disheartening to see their morale going down. It’s been very, very hard for a lot of people.
“People are so happy that Gupta has gone, because they feel like all he did was ruin the town. He’s run the place into the ground. Thank god he’s out.”
GFG’s owner, UK billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, has reportedly branded the seizure of his company as “unexpected and unprecedented” and “the wrong course of action”.
The Whyalla Steelworks. Image: Alex Cimbal/Shutterstock
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Whyalla mayor Phill Stone said morale in the town has “gone through the roof”.
“All the reports I’ve heard so far talking to people – whether they’re contractors, workers, or just people out on the street that I know – think this is the best thing that could have ever happened,” he said.
“Regrettably, the city has certainly, quite a while ago, lost faith in the owner, in not being able to deliver what he had said he would deliver.
“The thing that’s turned the community against the owner is lots of promises, but little to show for it, and the fact that they’re just not getting paid.”
The biggest impact was an immediate $100 million on the ground in support for creditors, infrastructure upgrades, and setting up a jobs matching and skills hub, he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Peter Malinauskas announced the funding package in Whyalla on Thursday. Image: David Simmons/InDaily
The ACTU said the announcement was “a lifeline for thousands of Whyalla steelworkers”.
“The Government has… also guaranteed the creation of tens of thousands of new manufacturing jobs in an industry critical to the growth of our economy and the protection of our climate,” ACTU President Michele O’Neil said.
AMWU National Secretary Steve Murphy said workers felt a “strong sense of hope” after eight years of watching the mines, plant and machines being deliberately run down and neglected.
The Greens said the handover of $2.4 billion should result in an equity stake, not just an untied grant or subsidy to the private sector.
