Your say: Mixed reactions to Toowoomba steel mill proposal at Wellcamp

Your say: Residents have had plenty of thoughts on a new plan to build Queensland’s first new steel mill in 30 years in Toowoomba.

Is a plan to build a $450m steel mill in Toowoomba a bold idea or a pipe dream?

GM Steel’s proposal to create Queensland’s first new mill in more than 30 years at Wellcamp has divided residents over its merits and purported outcomes for the region and state.

The project, revealed exclusively by News Corp, would see the facility turn scrap metal from southeast Queensland into 350,000 tonnes of steel rebar every year.

A Chronicle poll of nearly 250 readers found the overwhelming majority supported more investment in advanced manufacturing.

Here is what locals had to say:

Bring manufacturing home

Stephen

A Future Made in Australia … finally bringing manufacturing back home.

Susieh

It is to be hoped the Toowoomba Regional Council does all it can to assist this project, and not throw up so many obstacles and hurdles that the proponents go elsewhere.

Graham Chefy

About time we started using our own resources instead of shipping it to China and then buying the end product back.

Peter Pryce

Has a better chance than Whyalla, as it’s closer to infrastructure support. Toowoomba has one of the best engineering, fabrication industries in the country.

Wayne Hewett

It’s crazy Austrialia sends so much raw products to China and has for decades. It’s about time they start refining iron ore and make themselves more independent and prosperous.

Andrew Peter

Wild how some people see a $450M investment and nearly 1000 jobs and their first thought is to cry about subsidies or whinge about the word ‘green.’ Maybe the keyboard warriors need to sit this one out and let the people who actually build things get to work.

Barry Millwood

Fantastic to see an Australian company starting to increase manufacturing opportunities in our country using Australian resources, I hope this encourages more companies to produce more products from our raw resources which we have an abundance of and start selling products overseas and producing for ourselves using our new energy resources instead of buying back from China.

It will never happen

Steve Callon

Never happen in Toowoomba, no port to receive the ore or export the product, Gladstone, Maryborough, Bundaberg make sense.

Shannon Twine

Will never get off the ground as power and gas is too expensive, that’s why all foundries and rolling mills started closing in the first place.

Julie Townsend

It won’t happen. The government has to get to net zero emissions by 2050 and they will send us all broke first.

Questions over viability raised

Michael Swelcher

How close is the nearest iron ore? How close is the nearest port? How much per kilowatt will it cost for the so called green energy? Kidding yourselves!

Generic Matt

Good in theory, I have worked steel mills before, good for local communities. But look at Whyalla steel, boom and bust multiple times.

Trace Shelton

Where are the workers coming from kids only want to play on computers none of them want to sweat or get their hands dirty.

PR

Good idea. One huge problem is that it’s the traditional electric ARC scrap furnace. That means it needs electricity. With Australia’s high energy prices, this is neither viable nor sustainable.

Add in Australia’s very high taxes.

Kevin

Our electricity prices are among the highest in the world, the US and Canada is half ours. Toss in industrial laws and restrictive work practices and a part time future electricity grid then the proponents either haven’t done their homework or they hope to rely on subsidies. I hope it succeeds but due to government policies it is not viable to manufacture in Australia.