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https://reneweconomy.com.au/unions-push-for-public-ownership-of-whyalla-steel-to-keep-green-dream-alive/>
"The Whyalla steelworks should be placed into public ownership, given the
necessary investment and turned into a global showcase for green iron and steel
production, according to a new report released by SA Unions.
The report released on Tuesday outlines a blueprint for how the town might
respond after the South Australian government took control of the steelworks
and forced out its owner, Sanjeev Gupta as part of a $2.4 billion rescue plan.
As a former white knight investor, Gupta’s company group, GFG Alliance,
previously promised to revitalise the steelworks by producing green steel but
ran into trouble when his business empire began to collapse under the weight of
its debts.
The state government had previously offered the company $600 million in support
to buy a 250MW green hydrogen electrolyser and build a massive 200MW hydrogen
plant as part of this plan.
In February the state government finally lost patience with the company, taking
over the steelworks in a dramatic scene with the Premier, Peter Malinauskas,
meeting with state MPs before announcing that Korda Mentha had been appointed
administrator of OneSteel Manufacturing. Federal intervention soon followed.
The SA Unions report is an attempt to shape decision making about the future of
the facility with the best interests of the local community in mind. It was
commissioned to examine options for a just transition and considered whether it
best to find a new private owner to take it over, or for the government to
embrace a public ownership model to deliver the necessary investment.
Alistair Rainie, Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia
Business School, one of several authors on the report, said public ownership
should be the preferred option, and that government should not give up its
ambitions for Whyalla, as the steelworkers was in the rare position of having
everything it needed to make green iron and steel.
“It was clear when [the administrators] KordaMentha took it over that there had
been very little or no investment in the works for a long time. It was very
run-down, it was in very bad shape,” Rainie said.
“What it needs is investment. Whyalla has both magnetite ore and a ready supply
of renewable energy, both in terms of existing plans to create a hydrogen hub
and because the state is so much further down the renewable path than other
states, it has an advantage.
“This places it in a fundamentally better position to produce green iron and
green steel – and that’s very rare. Far, far better than the Pilbara.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
