MP representing Whyalla Eddie Hughes says the city’s people have lost confidence Sanjeev Gupta

The MP representing Whyalla has declared the city has ‘lost confidence’ in steelworks owner Sanjeev Gupta while Premier Malinauskas said he will continue to monitor the situation.

 The MP representing Whyalla says he and the city’s people have lost confidence in steelworks owner Sanjeev Gupta to “deliver on a bright, shiny, new future”.

Labor backbencher Eddie Hughes, a former worker at the steel plant, accused GFG of stripping “literally millions upon millions of dollars” out of the Whyalla operation to send overseas.

In an interview with The Advertiser, Mr Hughes said the predominant view in Whyalla was the Mr Gupta and his GFG Alliance had made numerous promises that had not been delivered.

Eddie Hughes MP with his son Liam who works at the steelworks said he was “with the people that have lost their confidence for a whole variety of reasons over an extended period of time”. Picture Simon Cross.

Asked whether he had confidence in Mr Gupta’s ability to deliver on promises of a green steel future, Mr Hughes, a former Whyalla deputy mayor, said he shared the views of his electors.

“This is a race between an ageing plant and a need for a genuine technology transition,” he said.

“ … There are a variety of views (in Whyalla) but I think the predominant view is that given all the promises that have been made in the past, without much in the way of delivery, most people in Whyalla have lost confidence in Sanjeev Gupta being able to deliver on a bright, shiny, new future.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the Australian steel industry was responding to increasingly slender margins and overseas price competition, particularly from China.

“South Australia and GFG are not immune to these global market pressures,” he said.

“We welcome GFG’s recent statements that they are continuing with their plans to ‘shape a stronger and more efficient plant that will last for years to come’ and that Whyalla remains Mr Gupta’s ‘highest priority’.”

Mr Malinauskas said the government would continue to monitor the situation, work closely with GFG and stand by the Whyalla community.

He told parliament on Thursday that his entire cabinet would hold a meeting in Whyalla on October 21 “to meet with key business and community stakeholders”.

Mr Malinauskas will speak with Mr Gupta on Thursday afternoon for an update about the Whyalla plant

Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said the government’s State Prosperity Project, of which green steel and a $593m hydrogen power plant at Whyalla are centrepieces, was “becoming less and less prosperous by the day”.

“As business owners come forward in the town of Whyalla, as people are losing their jobs in the town of Whyalla, they’re all calling on the government to come clean about its contingency plan for the steelworks,” he told parliament.

“I don’t reckon the government has got a plan. I think they are making it up as they go along and I think they’ve been flat-footed when it comes to this failed hydrogen plan as well.”

Mr Hughes, whose son works at the steelworks, said he was “with the people that have lost their confidence for a whole variety of reasons over an extended period of time”.

“Having said that, I will also strongly argue the case that the underlying fundamentals in Whyalla can add up to a good future,” he said.

Mr Hughes listed an “enormous magnetite resource”, critical to make steel using green energy and an “amazing workforce” that had kept the plant running most of the time despite numerous challenges.

With the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Whyalla steel works, MP Eddie Hughes said the city’s people have lost confidence in steelworks’ owner Sanjeev Gupta to “deliver on a bright, shiny, new future”. Picture: Tom Huntley

He also nominated Whyalla’s port and renewable energy resources, including the planned government-owned $593m hydrogen power plant on the city’s outskirts.

Asked if a new owner was required to transform the steelworks’ operations, Mr Hughes repeated that he did not have confidence in Mr Gupta to deliver.

“I think while he’s got majority control, I have serious doubts as to whether he will be able to find the joint venture partners that he needs,” he said.

“ … People working at the steelworks see the state of the plant … They are fully aware that literally millions upon millions of dollars have been stripped out of the mining operation to be sent overseas.

“ … Big profits have been made at the mines and that money has not stayed in Australia.”

But Mr Hughes said another firm taking over the operation was “a complex issue” with “a lot of moving parts”.

“It would be great to secure a credible steel maker, a steel maker that is able to work with the government to bring about the transition that is necessary,” he said.

“ … This is an evolving set of circumstances. My crystal ball is such that I could not say with certainty what is going to happen next.”

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