Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Peter Malinauskas debate Whyalla’s green steel future at The Advertiser’s Bigger, Better SA forum

Australia’s leaders laid their power cards on the table over the Whyalla rescue plan in Adelaide. Vote in the poll.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are at loggerheads over whether the Whyalla Steelworks bailout should be tied to a green steel future.

While Mr Albanese and Premier Peter Malinauskas doubled down on their vision to eventually have the steelworks fuelled by hydrogen, Mr Dutton called for a clean break at The Advertiser’s Building a Bigger, Better SA event.

Mr Albanese argued that hydrogen would power the world in the future, saying “the idea that we will say ‘oh well, that’s the future so we don’t want to be a part of it is in my view really shortsighted’”.

“Smart countries don’t retreat, smart countries get at the front of the queue.”

However, Mr Dutton was adamant the Whyalla Steelworks should not be tied to hydrogen in the future, saying there was no business case and it could deter strong potential buyers.

He also called on Mr Albanese to rule out taking government equity in the steelworks, saying it was not in the best interest of the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers a speech at the Building a Bigger, Better SA Forum. Picture: NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Opposition leader Peter Dutton at the Building a Bigger, Better SA Forum. Picture: NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

When asked about his own plan to take government equity in the opposition’s nuclear power plan however, Mr Dutton said this was a different scenario because it was important for the community to have greater reassurance about the safety of nuclear power plants.

Mr Albanese said he hoped a new owner would buy Whyalla Steel but left the door open for the government to take an equity stake, as the state government flagged news of a “deeper” relationship with BlueScope in upcoming weeks.

“I think this is an asset that will have a number of serious players in the industry – both here but also nationally – queuing up to engage and invest so I don’t think that will be necessary,” Mr Albanese said.

“This is a valuable asset, this isn’t a rescue plan for something that isn’t valuable going forward, this will produce value with the right owner, the right management and I’m confident that will occur.”

Mr Malinauskas signalled there could be further news about how BlueScope, the only other steel manufacturer in Australia now appointed to assist administrators at the Whyalla Steelworks, would be involved in Whyalla’s future.

“There’s no secret about the fact that I’ve been talking, along with other members of our team in the state government, to a range of potential owners and BlueScope is only one of them,”

Mr Malinauskas said. “But, let me say this, BlueScope is a highly credible Australian, publicly-listed company and I look forward to news emerging in coming days and weeks about how our relationship with BlueScope in Whyalla might be deeper again,” he said. There was one point all agreed on: That it was important to ensure the Whyalla Steelworks and mine survived to protect the nation’s sovereign interest in producing steel.

Mr Albanese told how the steelworks already produced 75 per cent of the nation’s steel and lessons learned during the Covid pandemic showed that if locally-manufactured products failed there was no guarantee the supply chain from overseas would continue.

“Imagine if we were here saying that the facility that produces 75 per cent of Australia’s structural steel was gone,” Mr Albanese said.

“One of the lessons of the pandemic that we absolutely have to not just talk about but put into practice is that Australia can’t just be a nation that’s at the end of supply chains that are vulnerable to shocks.”

He stressed Australia should not be “a quarry that digs up” quality products for export.

“Australia’s future is about punching way above our weight, it is making sure that wherever possible we back our resources industry.

“And yes, those exports are important, but wherever possible we value-add.”

Dutton spruiks power plan

Premier Peter Malinauskas agreed to being “nuclear-curious” at a major Advertiser event for the state’s future on Friday as the federal opposition leader spruiked nuclear as a far better nation-building plan than hydrogen.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Liberal Party’s plan to build nuclear power plants across Australia relied on well-tested technology, saying numerous plants were being constructed in China and Europe.

In contrast, he said, the state and federal governments’ commitment to the hydrogen plan had no clear backing from companies and governments across the nation, who were pulling back from their projects.

Mr Dutton said the nuclear debate was maturing, with the nation comfortable about having nuclear-powered submarines built under the AUKUS agreement and the federal government announcing it had a plan to dispose of associated nuclear waste.

He said the Coalition’s nuclear plan would revitalise end-of-use coal-powered station towns across Australia, saying it would create jobs and “that’s our vision”.

“We know we can deliver by 2025 and 2037 the first two sites, we increase the drumbeats into the 2040s,” he said.

The opposition’s costings showed it would be cheaper than using the “renewables only that the Prime Minister advocates”, Mr Dutton said.

When asked about whether he was “nuclear-curious” by The Advertiser’s Future SA moderator Samantha Maiden, Mr Malinauskas said he would be happy to explore having nuclear power in South Australia and that his current objection to the idea was “exclusively an economic and price question”.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speak with Samantha Maiden at the Bigger, Better SA forum. Picture: Brett Hartwig

“Every single bit of empirical evidence, peer reviews, research, economic analysis … says it won’t make power any cheaper, it will make it more expensive, so why on earth would I support it?” he said.

When Beach Energy managing director Brett Woods was asked about what needed to happen to “keep the lights on” in SA, he said the state was blessed with great renewable energy “but when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow we rely on our neighbours” for power.

“SA is at risk if Victoria wants to keep the lights on for night footy, they may not elect to send electricity across the border,” he said.

His comments were backed by Santos chief strategy officer Tracey Winters, who said gas must be supported in the energy transition mix, and her company was taking steps to address issues around carbon emissions.

“Moomba carbon capture and storage facility has proved to be so successful we’ve seen a lot of interest not only from Australian customers, but also from customers in Japan and Korea,” she said.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Peter Malinauskas debate Whyalla’s green steel future at The Advertiser’s Bigger, Better SA forum