"Today's action from the South Australian Government regarding the Whyalla steel works demonstrates just how significant steel making is to the national economy," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association, the Australian Industry Group, said today.
"It is no coincidence that the emerging trade barriers proposed by the United States at first cover steel and iron, as this capability is the building block for a range of advanced manufacturing and other industrial technologies.
"While attention is on the immediate future of Whyalla, we estimate the plant directly accounts for around 10 per cent of Whyalla's total workforce. With indirect employment through subcontractors and suppliers, the employment reliance on the plant is much greater.
"The Australian and global metals industries also face considerable uncertainty at the moment – from trade disruptions in the short-term, to the longer-term challenge of decarbonisation. This highlights that governments and industry must work together to ensure that unsustainable levels of red, green and grey tape do not cripple Australian industry.
"We should not lose sight of the ripple effect of the South Australian Government's decision that reaches far and wide into critical supply chains. There are now companies, and their employees, facing increased uncertainty which will compromise their ability to plan and strategise for an increasingly unstable global metals market," Mr Willox said.
