1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Let's speak with the local member for the Whaler area, 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: Eddie Hughes on the line, the member for Giles, Eddie Hughes, goodbinding, 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: Good morning, Matthew. So this is an opportunity for Cabinet 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: to meet directly with people working in the town, working 5 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: at the steel works. What do you think the message is. 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: What are they going to hear? What are people going 7 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,080 Speaker 1: to tell them? Your cabinet needs. 8 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 2: The message, the fundamental messages that the cabinets and the 9 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 2: governments have got the back of the Wiler community and 10 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 2: that we're here to as a shower support and also 11 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 2: a show of our confidence in the future of Wiler 12 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 2: because we think is obviously an incredibly important part of 13 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 2: the states their economy, and indeed not just the state's 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 2: economy as it looms large here in Wyler. About just 15 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 2: how important the steel works is for the community, but 16 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 2: the importance for the state, the importance for the nation. 17 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 2: That's part of our sovereign manufacturing capacity. So that is 18 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 2: something that needs to be supported, that need to get 19 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 2: through the current challenges and look beyond whatever the ownership 20 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 2: structure is and look at the fundamentals here that we 21 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 2: have got that massive reserves of magnetite and our doors 22 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 2: that are highly skilled and dedicated workforce. They are port 23 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 2: and industrial scale infrastructure. Albeit say we have a steel 24 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 2: work that does need a serious investment. 25 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: There's a lot of people turning up to work, as 26 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: I understand it, who arrive at why Alett, the steel 27 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: works there and have nothing to do. The blast fern 28 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 1: is still out as I'm told, they're sitting. They can't 29 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,559 Speaker 1: do maintenance. There's no money for maintenance. They're getting paid 30 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: but by a company that we read about is having 31 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: to restructure and find money somehow into the future. Cabinet 32 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: being there is great, but there's still a sense of 33 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,559 Speaker 1: the still work's being on the precipice very much. 34 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 2: Yes, I'd love nothing more than to be able to 35 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 2: say this is what we're going to do. We're going 36 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 2: to do x yles, but it's in some respects it's 37 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 2: a complex and evolving situation. We've made it clear that 38 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 2: we looked at all sorts of contingencies from the continuation 39 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 2: of of GfG to other potential other potential outcomes, and 40 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 2: dependent upon how things evolved will determine how ultimately the 41 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 2: state governments and and the federal government act. Now as 42 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 2: we as we speak, and I get virtually daily updates 43 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 2: about the blast furnace, just from mates that have got 44 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 2: on the shop floor and from senior management. And it's 45 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 2: good to see that that information that marries up. It's 46 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 2: so I get that information on a daily basis about 47 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 2: what's going on with the blast furnace. And while there's 48 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 2: no iron production that has an impact obviously the bos 49 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 2: or the caster at the at the rolling mills, people 50 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 2: are still being employed on ships. We do not want 51 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 2: to see the situation again. Work Bok has had the 52 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 2: shifts heavily modified and taking a many workers taking a 53 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 2: thirty percent sat of pay cup I mean don't want 54 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 2: to see that, certainly in the lead up to Christmas. 55 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 2: So the emphasis is at the moment of the priority. 56 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 2: The immediate thing that needs to be done is all 57 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 2: that hard work that is going into into the blast 58 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 2: furnace to get it to produce iron again. 59 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: That is certainly something that needs to happen. But you 60 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: must be getting that word when you're out on the 61 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: street going to the local supermarket and whatever. That people 62 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: are not perhaps willing to spend as much as I mean, 63 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: not that they can in a cost of living crisis anyway, 64 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: but just not spending as much because jobs may go 65 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: at the still works and it flows through the local 66 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: economy obviously it has to. 67 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, there is that uncertainty, and any time you get 68 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: on certainty, people are very mindful about how they spend 69 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 2: and that has wider ramifications for the whole local economy 70 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 2: for businesses. And we will be meeting with the Chamber, 71 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 2: the business Chamber here in their while later today to 72 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 2: get their feedback. But one of the important meetings that 73 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 2: in addition to meeting with workers directly that are directly 74 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 2: employed by GfG, is meeting with the contractors. And a 75 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 2: number of the contractors are doing it really hard for 76 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: the local smaller contractors. It's not so much the payments, 77 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 2: which now appear to be on schedule, but it's the 78 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,559 Speaker 2: cutback in the work in many cases over fifty percent 79 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 2: cutback in the work that you were getting from the company. 80 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 2: That is causing a lot of pain. Partly too, and 81 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 2: it's not an immediate answer to it. But I did 82 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 2: initiate to reach out to some big companies that are 83 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:46,159 Speaker 2: external to Wireler and to an organization called Tactic to 84 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 2: see if we could get a whole bunch of their 85 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 2: big companies to project their initiators to come to wiler 86 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 2: to meet with local contractors to have those their discussions 87 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 2: about the alternative work that might be around in the 88 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 2: near future. It's so just looking at diversification. But one 89 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 2: of the other things that some contractors raised with me 90 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 2: is the way that the GfG now allocates work to contractors. 91 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 2: So it goes through a company called Verretti, which is 92 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,479 Speaker 2: a GfG owned entity, and there's been a lot of 93 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 2: complaints about that particular process, not about the locals here 94 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 2: in Wilra that work force Forretti, but some of the 95 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 2: out of towns from Adelaide, and some concerns about how 96 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 2: that that work has now been allocated. 97 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: So you're saying that the contractors have been paid some 98 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: of the millions they've been owned. 99 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 2: Well, I did say the smaller local contractors and because 100 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 2: we have a number of what we would call a 101 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 2: national contractors here that are all the significant, very significant 102 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: sums of money. Now, my understanding is that some finances 103 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 2: have been arranged to address as some of that some 104 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 2: of that money that is old idea by the major contractors, right, 105 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 2: But it looks as though in terms of payment. The 106 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 2: smaller contractors are the schedule of payments is being met, 107 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 2: but for the smaller contractors it's the massive drop off 108 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 2: in work that they get in from the company. 109 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: All right, Eddie Hughes, A lot to come on this. 110 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: Good luck with the meetings today. Thank you, Matthew, appreciate 111 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: your time and maybe we'll check in and see how 112 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: that all goes in the next twenty four hours. 113 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, no, I feel free for any time. Another 114 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,359 Speaker 3: on a few authorifications that haven't been available sometimes if 115 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 3: they get a bit of notice because it's a bigger 116 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 3: lecture and everywhere I'm born, IM happy to speak. 117 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 1: All right, good on you, Eddie Hughes, a member for 118 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: Charles Take Sin Wuyela on cabinet, being there today and 119 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: catching up with a range of people across the town.