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Speaker 1: In Wayala, and it was attended by one hundred and

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Speaker 1: fifty or so people who were concerned about the future

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Speaker 1: of the steel works. And we're going to stay on

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Speaker 1: top of this story because it feels as if there

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Speaker 1: is trouble brewing there with claims of unpaid invoices. One

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Speaker 1: company owed seventy million dollars. That's unreal. How can they

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Speaker 1: continue operating with bills not paid to that level. Others

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Speaker 1: owed lesser amounts but still in the millions of dollars.

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Speaker 1: And look Sanji Gutper, the owner of the steel works,

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Speaker 1: as a man who is known to move finances from

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Speaker 1: one company to another of his right around the world.

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Speaker 1: And the still works caught up in this at the moment.

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Speaker 1: But with talk the blast furnace might go out in

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Speaker 1: they might deliberately put it out. It went out accidentally

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Speaker 1: some time ago and took a while to get started again.

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Speaker 1: But there is concern, I think, and with redundancies there

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Speaker 1: and at associated companies that supply the still works, it

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Speaker 1: should be ringing alarm bells for state and federal governments,

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Speaker 1: and I think it is here in the state. I think,

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Speaker 1: speaking with Tom Kutzonton as the energy minister last week.

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Speaker 1: He seemed to have sufficient concerns to be very well

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Speaker 1: aware of the potential trouble that this might cause should

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Speaker 1: the steel works close. Frank Pangalo is right on it.

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Speaker 1: He was at the public meeting in Whale yesterday. Frank,

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Speaker 1: good morning, Good morning, Matt Give good morning.

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Speaker 2: If you listening.

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Speaker 1: You're calling on the state and federal governments to get

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Speaker 1: involved and look at the possibility of buying the steel

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Speaker 1: works or either.

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Speaker 2: Buying them or buying a stake in them. And in fact,

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Speaker 2: they are actually rumors at the forum yesterday that Twiggy

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Speaker 2: Forrest and also Gina Reinhart are showing an interest in

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Speaker 2: perhaps purchasing the steel works, but that hasn't been conferred.

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Speaker 1: Why didn't they do it before then? Is the question

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Speaker 1: I'd be asking who rhyin Hard or Well either buying

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Speaker 1: it when Ariam went through the hoop.

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Speaker 2: Well, look, I mean they had their own business interests

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Speaker 2: at the time. I can't answer that. Gina Rhina had

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Speaker 2: other interests in cattle stations, and she's got a mining

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Speaker 2: interest in the Pilbra. Whether they wanted to get involved

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Speaker 2: in steelmaking is another thing. But regardless, yesterday, you know

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Speaker 2: about one hundred and fifty concerned people from Whaler turned

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Speaker 2: up at short notice and they expressed their concerns and

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Speaker 2: also that they wanted the government, specifically the Premiere and

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Speaker 2: all the minister to come and see them and address

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Speaker 2: them and give them some reassurances about the future of

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Speaker 2: stillmaking and whyara the future of the plant, and that

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Speaker 2: they were going to be committed to ensuring that you

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Speaker 2: still will continue to be produced in South Australia Australian Steel, Matthew,

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Speaker 2: because you know, there are suggestions now that perhaps you know,

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Speaker 2: under some other plans they might be just importing billets

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Speaker 2: of steel from overseas and then putting them through the

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Speaker 2: smelter and then bringing out steel products that aren't necessarily Australian.

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Speaker 2: But there are also other concerns about jobs, and that's

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Speaker 2: the most important thing. It was confirmed on Friday by Golding,

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Speaker 2: the company that sort of mines the ore iron nob

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Speaker 2: and iron barren, but they have to reduce their teams

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Speaker 2: because Semic the company that operates out of Wyala with PFG,

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Speaker 2: does not require as much iron ore now because there's

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Speaker 2: a downturn in the market, of course, so they flagged

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Speaker 2: that one hundred and six jobs will have to go

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Speaker 2: at those two mines. They did offer them the opportunities

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Speaker 2: to go to other projects that Golding have, but they're

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Speaker 2: all in Queensland. So people, if they want to take

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Speaker 2: up the opportunity, I mean, they'll have to leave Wyala.

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Speaker 2: On top of that, I was told yesterday that the

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Speaker 2: clean contractor at the steel works has had enough not

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Speaker 2: being paid and have brought up stumps there and fifty

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Speaker 2: will lose their jobs by the end of September. I

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Speaker 2: was also told that people are taking paper, towels, toilet

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Speaker 2: paper and even their own bottled water in there because

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Speaker 2: it's not being supplied. So there are obviously concerns there.

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Speaker 2: We know the debt problems that mister Gupta has not

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Speaker 2: only here but also overseas, and I'm sure that mister

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Speaker 2: Kustontonus is on top of it. It'd be worried. The

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Speaker 2: Premier would be worried about it because the hydrogen project

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Speaker 2: in Wyala revolves all around having the steel works and

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Speaker 2: having the produced green steel. But these people want confidence

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Speaker 2: from the government that they got their backs and that

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Speaker 2: still will continue to be produced in Wyala. It has

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Speaker 2: to be produced in Wyale. We need a still industry

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Speaker 2: in this country for various reasons, including our national security,

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Speaker 2: the major projects that we have, and also to the

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Speaker 2: stability of this region, the economic impact that it could

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Speaker 2: have on the state's economy. So they are really worried,

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Speaker 2: really worried in fact that Matthew. I asked people here yesterday,

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Speaker 2: I said, compare the situation today to the situation in

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Speaker 2: twenty sixteen when Arion went into administration. Which one do

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Speaker 2: you think is worse. They told me that it's worse

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Speaker 2: today than it was then. So the alarm bill should

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Speaker 2: be ringing loudly. I know the government don't want to

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Speaker 2: go openly and spook people, but action needs to be

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Speaker 2: done and a company has to be paying its bills,

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Speaker 2: has to be paying its employees, not laying people off.

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Speaker 2: If you're going to create thousands of jobs in the

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Speaker 2: Upper Spencer Golf region, as the Premier has promised, saying

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Speaker 2: that it's going to be a job's bonanz are bigger

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Speaker 2: than the gold Rush, and it hinges all around. What's

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Speaker 2: happening in Wayala and now we're seeing jobs are being lost. Well,

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Speaker 2: people haven't got the time, Matthew, mister Gouda is going

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Speaker 2: to bring the well, he says, the electric arc furness

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Speaker 2: is coming in twenty twenty seven, the hydrogen plant where

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Speaker 2: they should have started construct where they need to start

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Speaker 2: construction according to the Premier's timelines at the end of

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Speaker 2: this year, towards end it. Well. I haven't seen any

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Speaker 2: action at the location when I went past there the

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Speaker 2: other day, and it should be ready by twenty twenty six,

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Speaker 2: and people have got a lot of doubt that they're

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Speaker 2: going to meet those deadlines.

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Speaker 1: It's ridiculous to think that if it does close, if

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Speaker 1: governments don't get involved, or a buyer like a Reinhard

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Speaker 1: or a forest doesn't get involved to take it over,

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Speaker 1: we'll be exporting iron all over season, buying back steel

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Speaker 1: when we should be making it here. However, on the

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Speaker 1: flip side to that, it reminds me of the dying

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Speaker 1: days of Holden and Ford, where we just kept dumping

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Speaker 1: taxpayer dollars in and in and in. We should have

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Speaker 1: just either got serious and bought the carm aking and

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Speaker 1: built cars federally, you know, have it owned by the

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Speaker 1: federal government, which I don't think we really wanted to

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Speaker 1: do or want to do. But this is the same.

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Speaker 1: We either have to own it and run it or

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Speaker 1: stop putting money into it.

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Speaker 2: Well, look it's a great comparison actually, and it's looming

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Speaker 2: that way. We've got some advantages here in South Australia.

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Speaker 3: You know, we've got.

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Speaker 2: Iron all reserves nearby. We've got a huge magnetite reserves

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Speaker 2: that can be used in the production of green still,

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Speaker 2: so we've got all that here. We've got the workforce,

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Speaker 2: we've got the skilled workforce. You just need an owner

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Speaker 2: in that plant is actually going to spend some money

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Speaker 2: and be committed here. Now, what's compounding things is the

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Speaker 2: fact that iron ore vices have plummeted in recent and

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Speaker 2: also the price of steel and the international market is

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Speaker 2: now going to be flooded with cheap Chinese steel. So

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Speaker 2: you're going to be giving other construction companies in this

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Speaker 2: country an opportunity to be able to buy cheaper steel

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Speaker 2: than what they can get coming out of South Australia.

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Speaker 1: Which has made overseas without any concern about carbon emissions.

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Speaker 1: And you know, we're cutting our eyes off to spite

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Speaker 1: our face in that regard as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know people out there today in

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Speaker 2: LA they think Oh, what does this matter to me?

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Speaker 2: It actually matters quite a lot, mate, because you know,

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Speaker 2: the state's economy is reliant on places like why Ala,

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Speaker 2: the money that comes out of it, the royalties and

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Speaker 2: mining royalties. It's a significant piece of industry in South

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Speaker 2: Australia that needs to be protected. Look, I'm pretty sure

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Speaker 2: the Premiere and the Minister and his government are committed

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Speaker 2: to ensuring that we will always have a steel industry

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Speaker 2: because we need it for ours of.

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Speaker 1: An interest absolutely, Franklink, thank you for the update after

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Speaker 1: the meeting yesterday. And I suppose what we're waiting for

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Speaker 1: is a statement for a mister Goodpa.

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Speaker 2: Well not only mister, they actually want mister Gupta to

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Speaker 2: come to Whaler and address them just like you did,

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Speaker 2: you know, back in twenty seventeen and passed through their

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Speaker 2: streets and gave them all these promises. They want promises

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Speaker 2: that are fulfilled. I think they also want the government

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Speaker 2: to fulfill their own promises as well, and come and

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Speaker 2: reassure these people that you know, the town isn't going

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Speaker 2: to turn into a ghost.

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Speaker 1: Town, all right, Frank, Frank Pangelo in Whale yesterday for

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Speaker 1: this forum. Nick Antonio organized the forum in whale and Nick, good.

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Speaker 3: Morning, Good morning, Matthew, and good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: So one hundred and fifty people turned up. Were you

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Speaker 1: hoping for more?

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Speaker 3: I'll look more as always better in saying that the

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Speaker 3: people that did turn up were really energetic, and they

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Speaker 3: are really passionate and vocal and shared their concerns with

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Speaker 3: the Frank and myself regarding the still work issues we're

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Speaker 3: facing at the moment now. I worked in the still

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Speaker 3: Works for eight years. I went away worked up Olympic Dam.

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Speaker 3: Throughout my apprenticeship, I was an electrical apprentice in the

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Speaker 3: still Works when Arion went into administration. I was one

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Speaker 3: at that time when my apprenticeship was put on hold

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Speaker 3: for a week, so I experienced the ups and downs.

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Speaker 3: I've worked in all departments of the still Works up

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Speaker 3: until recent I've actually left the still work to my

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Speaker 3: own personal reasons and benched into the family business. Locally,

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Speaker 3: I can speak firsthand for the condition of the still

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Speaker 3: Works and what's happening at the moment with the blast furnace,

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Speaker 3: with the shipment of coke. Now, Matthew, what's really upsetting

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Speaker 3: for me is that the work is on the ground

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Speaker 3: of putting their heart and soul into keeping the place running.

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Speaker 3: Every day they are down there doing their best for

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Speaker 3: that furnace. Now, every time there's a shipment delaying coke,

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Speaker 3: the furnace calls and they have issue issues in red

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Speaker 3: getting a connection to the bottom of that blast furnace.

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Speaker 3: Now what that means is you've got no fuel for

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Speaker 3: the furnace. It cools down, wait for the shipment to

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Speaker 3: the Cochman coke arrives. Then you've got to try to

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Speaker 3: get it started again. It's an old furnace and it

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Speaker 3: doesn't want to cool down.

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Speaker 1: Just yeah, gone one step further on that.

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Speaker 3: One of my close friends, he's a local here, is

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Speaker 3: lived here all his life, and he's a volunteer in

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Speaker 3: emergency services. Now he's just been made redundant, Matthew. Now

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Speaker 3: he's looking for work elsewhere, and his raised to me

200
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Speaker 3: that there's five FO workers on his crew that are

201
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Speaker 3: here on a working visa that have kept their jobs. Now,

202
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Speaker 3: now what this means is he's a local. He volunteers

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Speaker 3: his time in emergency service and there's only a short

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Speaker 3: number of usday twenty. So if we lose five of

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Speaker 3: our emergency services and they go work out of town.

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Speaker 3: We're now in a situation where we may not be

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Speaker 3: able to respond to an emergency situation. So the flow

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Speaker 3: on effect is massive. It's really concerning, not just for

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Speaker 3: what's happening to those workers losing their jobs and the

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Speaker 3: still works and out of the minds, it's the flow

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Speaker 3: on to the community and the services that we're able

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Speaker 3: to provide.

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Speaker 1: Nick, the morale there, Frank saying it's worse than when

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Speaker 1: an Ariam closed down pulled out in twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 3: Oh that's an understatement. Yeah, yeah, it's they were in

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Speaker 3: dire straits, Matthew, And this is why we really need

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Speaker 3: some assurances for financial security. And we're really I don't

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Speaker 3: like to use the word, but we're really begging for

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Speaker 3: the Premier, Tom Quinsantonis and Eddie Hughes to come to

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Speaker 3: the forefront and represent the community and come give us everything.

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Speaker 1: Nop, I think we've lost Nick, something went on with us,

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Speaker 1: Liane there cut out, But morale not being tops is

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Speaker 1: certainly something that would flow through the town, local businesses

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Speaker 1: and everything else. All right, Thank you, Nick, Thank you,

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Speaker 1: Frank