Copper industry needs urgent fix, pressure for inquiry
Townsville Bulletin
Pressure is being ramped up on politicians to proceed with a Senate inquiry into Australia metals manufacturing industry, despite NQ’s copper industry needing actual solutions within days.
Coalition politicians visited Townsville on Wednesday to push for the inquiry, which could offer a greater insight into the challenges facing the industry, including international competition, high energy costs, and the need to preserve 6000 direct jobs, sovereign capability, and support national defence.
Following their federal electoral wipe-out, Queensland Senator Matt Canavan conceded that the Coalition needed support from either the crossbench, Labor, or Greens senators for the inquiry to proceed.
“This is a test to the Labor Party in particular, are you going to back and support these jobs, often at union jobs, high-paying jobs in our smelters and refineries?” he said.
“I think it should be absolutely bipartisan that we keep these facilities in place and I do think there’s a need to discuss more broadly these issues.”
Even if Glencore closed its Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville copper refinery, Opposition manufacturing and sovereign capability assistant minister Andrew Willcox said an inquiry would ensure that other smelters and refineries endured.
“We need to understand exactly, let’s listen to the industry ‘what are your problems’ so we can develop solutions for those going forward,”
Mr Willcox said. “That’s why I’ll be extremely disappointed if Labor and cross benches don’t support this inquiry.
“How could anyone argue against finding out information, finding out what’s wrong?”
A spokeswoman for Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said the federal government was focused on “real solutions”, and was taking a strategic and considered approach to each circumstance to ensure they were building and sustaining the domestic industrial capabilities needed to strengthen our economic resilience and national security.
“What the Coalition refers to as ‘bailouts’ is, in fact, the federal government working constructively with state governments and industry to undertake serious, tailored assessments of the viability of critical minerals processing in Australia,” she said.
Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brummesmith said an inquiry would be an “important process”, but NQ’s copper industry “needs a solution in days not months” to preserve the livelihoods of 17,000 North Queenslanders.