Good morning, everyone. It is a bright, sunny day here in Tomago, but it is a great day for Australia. And I just want to firstly thank the workers and their families here at Tomago Aluminium, who have been resilient and patient with both their Federal and State Governments. And I particularly want to thank the unions, the AWU, the AMWU, and the ETU, who have worked on site to get a great result today too. But my first thanks goes to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. I phoned him quite a few months ago about this issue, and he said, 'Meryl, I'm in Jakarta. I've got 15 minutes, and I've got to be at a big dinner'. And I said, 'I'm only going to need two minutes, PM'. And I explained to him the situation here, and he said, 'I get it. We'll work it out. It's a complex thing. It could take a while, but let's talk more'. And we did that, and through Ministers Tim Ayres and Chris Bowen and their staff and teams, we've arrived at today. It hasn't been easy. It hasn't been straightforward, and there is a bit more work to do. But we are saving not only manufacturing here at this facility, but we are underpinning manufacturing in Australia in a world where the certainties of years gone by have changed in the last decade. We today are backing Australia. We're backing New South Wales, but we're backing Tomago. Thank you to everyone who has been involved. It is a great day for Australia, and I want to introduce my state colleague who has worked with me on this project, Kate Washington. But thank you, everyone.
KATE WASHINGTON, NEW SOUTH WALES MEMBER FOR PORT STEPHENS: Thanks, Meryl, and good morning, everyone. This is a great day, and it means a lot. It means a lot to the people of Port Stephens. It means a lot to the people of the Hunter. It is a massive investment into the families of Port Stephens and the Hunter, and a massive investment into our local economy here in Port Stephens and the Hunter. We have seen this as a massive priority for a long time. Securing the future of the jobs here, securing the future of manufacturing here in the Hunter, has been a massive priority for me here as a local member, but more importantly, our government and the Albanese Government. We have been working together to get to today, and today we are delivering on the commitment that we made to keep manufacturing alive here in the Hunter, and it could not mean more to our local families, our local economy, and right across the Hunter. And I want to thank every single person, particularly all the workers, who have been patient and made this day come about. Thank you so much. And now, I could not be more pleased to welcome the Prime Minister of Australia.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much, Kate. And it's wonderful to be here for this announcement. At the end of last year, I came here and I said, 'we have got your back' to the workers here in this facility. And we've worked with the Minns Labor Government here in New South Wales to make sure that this facility has a future that is not only it being able to survive, but it thriving into the future. This is an arrangement that will deliver additional clean energy for New South Wales and for Australia. It will deliver on manufacturing jobs. It will deliver on keeping not just the 1,000 jobs which are here direct and 5,000 indirect in this region, but the many tens of thousands of jobs that come from us being a country that makes things, and aluminium is an essential product. The idea that we sit and allow this facility to just disappear, would have had consequences. We cannot afford to be at the end of supply chains. We need to be a country that makes things, and there is nowhere better in Australia that has a history of making things than the Newcastle and Hunter regions, and that is why this is so important, right here today. I do want to thank Tomago Aluminium as well for investing in this region. This commitment, $2.5 billion, shared 50-50 between our Federal Labor Government and the New South Wales Labor Government, led by Chris Minns, is being backed as well by additional investment from Tomago in their future. This is a great example of governments at different levels working together to secure jobs and to secure the future, but also working with the private sector to secure outcomes in the national interest. And there is no question that aluminium is such an essential product to be produced, because it goes into everything else that is manufactured in this country, just about. And that is why we simply weren't prepared to sit back and say, 'oh well, it's all too hard'. We've worked constructively to make sure that we have a plan, and I want to pay tribute to Chris Bowen and Tim Ayres, our Industry Minister and Energy Minister, who've worked as well with their New South Wales counterparts to make sure that it's deliverable. And I want to pay tribute as well to the local members here, Meryl Swanson, all of my team, and the New South Wales Labor team, who worked so hard to represent the workers and families here.
I just met a husband and wife who've just bought a home in Raymond Terrace, and they said to me just before, I'd never met them before, that this secures their future going ahead, for the period ahead. I told them that we're about to open the M1 in a few weeks. I'll be back here in the Hunter. Further investment there in Raymond Terrace and in this region, backing up the investment that we've had in the Hunter Expressway, the investment we've had in the Port, the investment that we've had in this region. Labor Governments will back Newcastle and the Hunter, and the bloke who will speak next will continue to do that, well beyond the next election as well. The Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns.
CHRIS MINNS, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Thank you, Prime Minister. Thanks so much to all my colleagues. Thanks to everybody from Tomago, the unions that are here. Labor was never going to turn its back on the town that builds Australia. This is too important for our state, too important for Australia. And today's announcement is a shot in the arm when it comes to confidence in this region. This is a community that is re-industrialising in so many so many ways. Whether it's in mining, whether it's returning manufacturing to the old BHP site, or right here at Tomago. And I am very proud to lead a government that's - with the Federal Government, saved Tomago and brought back train building to the Hunter. We've got a proper plan for this region that involves good, well-paid jobs, deep into the future. And we aren't going to be the kind of government, either at the state or the federal level, that turns its back on these kind of jobs. If we're serious and with a straight face, are making the claim that Australia is a place that builds things, then Tomago has to remain open. It's too important in terms of sovereign capability, for local jobs, for ancillary jobs in the local region. There's some statistics that you may not know, but the company speaks about often, and that is that there's over $2 billion worth of economic value that's generated from Tomago, $800 million of which is generated locally. And the truth of the matter is, we couldn't have a situation where that level of economic stimulus is withdrawn from an economy like that. If you look at the Liberals in South Australia or the Democrats in Michigan, they presided over the de-industrialisation of those regions. We are never going to do that for the Hunter. This area, this region, has got a proud history and an even brighter future, and that's secured today with today's announcement. I'm going to pass over to Marcus, Senior Delegate on site.
MARCUS FAULKNER, AWU SENIOR DELEGATE AT TOMAGO ALUMINIUM: Good morning. Thank you. Look, I just wanted to focus a little bit on today. It's a good day. It's been a culmination - a lot of work is done behind the scenes to get to where we are today. I really want to thank the Federal Government, our Prime Minister, also the New South Wales State Government, and Chris as well, for the work that they've done to get some security into our workforce. I can't not go past also recognising the work that the AWU have done behind the scenes. I probably am a little bit, more understand the work that goes on behind the scenes with the government and the Tomago Aluminium. But I also too want to want to thank the delegates on site. They're the ones that have been on the front line. They're the ones that have been every day hearing the stories, feeling the emotion, getting the anxiety, and they've focused on getting the right message and keeping people focused on what they should be doing, and that safety and making other people. The other thing I really want, last but not least, is actually thanks to workforce at Tomago here. Obviously, large industry, heavy industry, it's an unforgiving environment. It can be an unforgiving environment and so stay focused with that hanging over your head of whether you are going to have a job after 2028, does actually weigh fairly heavily. So, as far as the workers are concerned, they're the heroes of this. They're the ones that have kind of kept themselves safe and everyone else around them and kept focused on what we should be doing and making aluminium. So, really, I do want to thank those. But for us, again, it shores up our future. Prime Minister referenced a couple of people that we were talking to. I get lots of stories about what the future holds for them, about what we can actually do moving forward, getting into the housing market. We all know it's difficult at the best of times, but with the fight that we've faced over the last four or so months, that made it even more difficult. So I really am happy for them. I'm happy that that now, it shows up that future for all the employees moving forward.
JEROME DOZOL, CEO OF TOMAGO ALUMINIUM: Today is a great day. It's a great day for Tomago. It's a great day for the Hunter. Great day for New South Wales. Great day for Australia, and great day for manufacturing in Australia. We are very thankful to the Government, the New South Wales Government, the Federal Government, to the union, and to our employees. There was a lot of hard work to make this possible, this challenge. We are very thankful to them. We are very thankful as well to our employees for all the work they have done for more than 40 years - their skills, their competency, their commitment have made Tomago successful, and it will make Tomago successful tomorrow. We are very happy. It's going to protect an Australian sovereign capability. It will protect the supply chain of aluminium across Australia, from bauxite mine, to alumina refinery, to aluminium smelter, up to finished goods. This is really important to protect this supply chain. It will underpin new renewable energy. It will unlock $1.1 billion dollar investment from Tomago and its owners to build the future of Tomago. And most importantly, it's going to protect Tomago's future. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, why should it be the job of taxpayers to prop up a big corporation like Rio Tinto to save all these jobs? We're not talking about a small business here.
PRIME MINISTER: What this is about is protecting Australia's national interest. There was a view from some, including a former government that told the car industry to leave Australia, that there would always be someone else somewhere else that would manufacture things for our benefit. That view is mistaken. We should learn from the mistakes of the past and understand that we cannot afford to be at the end of supply chains. We see as well the fact that oil refineries shut in this country under the former government, that now we're having to go out there and look at, how do we become more sovereign? How do we become more resilient? And the idea that we would sit back and watch this facility just disappear is not in Australia's national interest. This will produce a return to Australia. This is connected up with an increase in clean energy, which will drive this change through. It's connected up with not just the jobs that are created directly here, but they're indirect jobs that will flow through the manufacturing sector right throughout this country. Aluminium is an essential product. We are proud that we're backing the workers here. We're working constructively with the private sector. Tomago will invest over a billion dollars additional on top of the investment that we've made already. And I just spoke to one of the workers there who has worked here at this facility for 43 years. And what he said to me was 'the great thing is I'll finish my working life here, but the next generation will be able to work here as well'.
JOURNALIST: [INDISTINCT] accelerate the [INDISTINCT]. Can you give us some examples of the type of projects that are going to [INDISTINCT]?
CHRIS BOWEN, MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY: Last year, Jerome came to us on behalf of Tomago and said 'we can't rely on coal-fired power anymore and we don't have enough confidence that enough renewable energy is coming forward to keep Tomago alive'. And we agreed with him. And so, we worked on a very innovative arrangement together with New South Wales, working with our government agencies, Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Snowy Hydro, to bring on that renewable energy. Three gigawatts. Now, that will take various forms. It won't all be in the Hunter. It'll be spread predominantly out through New South Wales. It will take projects which have been worked on in the pipeline that maybe have already received environmental approval but haven't reached final investment decision. Some will be wind farms, others will be solar backed by batteries. The combination of a portfolio put together, as I said, working with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Snowy Hydro to make sure, as Jerome said, the future of aluminium is decarbonised, and we are going to help Tomago make sure that they are an essential part of that future globally.
JOURNALIST: This is the second funding package that's been given to Rio. Of course, there was a similar package reported earlier this year in Queensland. In terms of giving, as we mentioned before, a large corporation more money to keep going, what cost benefit does that actually come back to the taxpayer, instead of just giving Rio more opportunities to make more profit?
PRIME MINISTER: What it comes back to is jobs, point one. Second, sovereign capability. It is in our national interest to have an economy that has manufacturing that is not dependent upon something somewhere else occurring. Because we know that can lead to disruption. At the moment, we've seen the supply chain disruption that's occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, there's impacts in the entire global economy. And what economies are looking at, not just us but others as well, is how do they become more resilient. So, the theme of our Budget in May was resilience and reform. And we need to have companies that continue to produce aluminium. As was said, here we have the bauxite that can go right through the supply chain to the end products that are produced here. That puts Australia in a stronger position. That produces a return to the Australian taxpayer and to Australian workers. That produces a return here in this region that is so critical. Newcastle and the Hunter have played historically a central role in making things here in Australia. The announcement, that I certainly welcome, that the Minns Government have done about rail manufacturing here. We see what happens when things are just made overseas. We had ferries produced here under the Liberal government. If they went down the Parramatta River and people were standing on top, they'd be decapitated by the bridges. We saw trains that can't go on the platforms in a secure way. We see light rail in my electorate that's been offline for almost as much as it's been online because of, if something occurred, having to go overseas to get the repairs and maintenance done. We need to make things here in Australia. That is the lesson of COVID, the lesson in so many areas as well. And my Government has a strong agenda for a Future Made in Australia.
JOURNALIST: When you did this hand gesture to describe the Japanese Prime Minister, what exactly did you mean?
PRIME MINISTER: I've talked here today, I used my hands. Look, I've answered this question many times. Well, the fact is that the Japanese Prime Minister and I have a very good relationship. The Japanese Ambassador has made very clear statements, indeed, about how warm our dinner was. And it was indeed. It was.
PREMIER MINNS: Go and ask a thousand workers what they care about today. Obviously, this is the biggest announcement for this region in a generation. Can we just talk about it for five minutes?
JOURNALIST: Has there been any economic modelling that actually shows that $2.5 billion to Tomago stacks up?
TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY & INNOVATION: This deal certainly stacks up for the Hunter, for New South Wales and for Australia. It'll bring forward very significant additional investment in electricity generation and transmission that will put downward pressure on prices for this facility. But for households and businesses all across the Eastern Seaboard, making New South Wales economy and Australia's economy more productive, more competitive, more efficient, more investment in blue collar jobs, this deal will mean more than a billion dollars of additional from the owners of Tomago Aluminium in this vital facility. And it secures an end-to-end aluminium capability in Australia that employs tens of thousands of people. Tens of thousands of people employed in this supply chain. A vital national capability that delivers for workers in our outer suburbs and regions like the Hunter, but delivers in Australia's national interest too.
JOURNALIST: Now this funding has been unveiled, what's the next steps?
PRIME MINISTER: The next steps are to implement it. And that will require growth in terms of, and the Premier might like to speak as well about New South Wales' role. From us, what this does is secure certainty. We have provided funding for this is included in our Budget. We have worked very hard with New South Wales to make sure that we have an agreement going forward. This will require additional investment in clean energy. Some of that is about the roads as well, that will be required there as well. And we'll work with New South Wales constructively. This is a very complex deal, but it's one that's very much in the interests of the nation and that is why we've done it.
PREMIER MINNS: Yeah, thanks, PM. I mean, now the hard work begins. But we've got $1 billion, more than $1 billion from the feds, more than $1 billion from the state, a billion invested from Rio. Now we've got the certainty to roll out the investment that we need, both for this site and renewable energy in the state. I mean, just to the tenor of some of the questions, I just make the point cities and governments over the last 50 years have gone in with the best of intentions to close down their manufacturing cities and they've always regretted it, always. Because the costs associated with trying to find jobs, good, well paid jobs for the next generation. It never comes along. You couldn't rebuild what we have here at Tomago from scratch. You're talking about billions of dollars' worth of capital investment over decades. We need to use that sovereign capability for our state's benefit, and it needs to start and continue now.
JOURNALIST: Premier, I know that previously when we've spoken about this, you had said that you didn't necessarily want to go 50/50 with the Federal Government in terms of the money you put in. I know that the information we received says that it's a maximum of $1.225 billion. Are you expecting to have to go that 50/50 or are you expecting the Federal Government to pick up more?
PREMIER MINNS: No, we've struck an agreement with the Commonwealth Government around 50/50. We recognise this is based in New South Wales, is hugely important for our economy, and the Federal Government's come to the table with a big, big investment, which is important both for Tomago and for the Hunter. But what we were able to do over the last three or four months, and I'm very grateful for the Prime Minister's intervention, is solve a range of federal-state financing issues that have been on the table for a long time. But the PM stepped in, and he solved it and we're very grateful.
JOURNALIST: Just on a different issue, 147 drones were found to breach RAAF bases in the last financial year. Are you concerned, considering we don't know who are controlling these drones? And do you think there should be an investigation by ASIO?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I want to make this point as someone as well who represents an electorate near Australia's busiest commercial airport, that it is unsafe and dangerous to have drones around airspace. It makes no sense for that to occur. One of the things that my Government has done through investment in the Australian Defence Force is to make sure that we've invested something like $7 billion in capability when it comes to warfare associated with drones. We continue to do that because we recognise that those issues are important. Defence will work with New South Wales Police on these issues to make sure that the area around the airport can operate safely. Because that is absolutely critical. Thanks very much.
