Chrys Press knows the drill. When the Whyalla steelworks’ unpaid bills start piling up, he simply withholds delivery of the protective clothing his business, Maaric Industrial Services, has dry-cleaned. The money suddenly arrives in his account. But it is tiring.

“I’m peed off, I’ve had enough,” Press says. The steelworks loom behind him, as they have the entire town, population 21,900, since opening eight decades ago. More recently, things have become worse. The Whyalla steelworks, once part of BHP’s industrial empire, is owned by British businessman Sanjeev Gupta and his GFG Alliance, a group of mills around the world that has been teetering on the brink of collapse for years.