OFFSHORE ALLIANCE
MEDIA RELEASE
16 June 2025
Northern Endeavour deal would sink government promises on jobs, steel, and sovereignty
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) are calling on the Minister for Resources, Madeleine King MP, to ensure that responsibility for the dismantling of the Northern Endeavour is not offloaded to Norway, a move that would be in direct contradiction to the government's policy commitments to build a sovereign decommissioning and green metals industry under the "Future Made in Australia" agenda.
In 2023, Macquarie University released an insightful report calling for dedicated sites to handle Australia's emerging decommissioning industry. Academics and policy experts warned of a looming shortfall in onshore dismantling infrastructure-particularly in WA-and recommended investment to develop domestic ports, yards and recycling capacity. The Department of Industry Science and Resources has failed to incentivise development and investment to meet this demand.
The report also outlined how offshore oil and gas workers are well-placed to lead this work, safely and efficiently, if state and federal governments commit to a just transition. Yet today, Australia is on the verge of outsourcing the dismantling of the Northern Endeavour - the opportunity flagged in that report is now being squandered.
The Federal Labor Government pledged:
"Labor will establish an Australian decommissioning industry... Labor will work with industry to establish shared infrastructure requirements such as membrane-protected yards and vessels to carry out decommissioning, dismantling and recycling works."
In a 2023 statement to Parliament, Resources Minister Madeleine King affirmed that:
"As industry starts investing to decommission $60 billion in offshore infrastructure, we want as much of that investment to be spent backing Australian industry and Australian jobs."
Meanwhile, countries like Brunei are doing what Australia has failed to-building capacity through public investment and collaboration with industry. Brunei now hosts regional dismantling contracts once earmarked for Australian ports.
Levy Funding Should Build Local Capability
The Maritime Union of Australia is calling on the Albanese Government to reinvest the Laminaria-Corallina Levy into building domestic dismantling infrastructure-starting with a dedicated Decommissioning Marine Terminal in Western Australia.
Established following the Northern Endeavour debacle, a levy was designed to recover the public costs of decommissioning infrastructure abandoned by industry. With up to $1 billion to be collected from offshore oil and gas operators, the fund is well placed to support investment in sovereign capacity that prevents further regulatory failures.
Redirecting the Laminaria-Corallina levy to build domestic dismantling and recycling facilities would cut environmental risks and long-haul tow costs, while creating secure union jobs and retraining opportunities for offshore workers. It's a chance to transform a clean-up liability into a strategic asset-advancing ALP Platform goals and Future Made in Australia commitments.
Quotes attributable to the Maritime Union of Australia:
MUA National Assistant Secretary Thomas Mayo said "The levy was created because industry has shirked its responsibility. The best use of those funds is to build the very infrastructure that ensures this never happens again".
"This is a chance for the government to turn a failure into a foundation. Public money should build public benefit-not subsidise foreign shipbreakers".
"This should have been the cornerstone of a new era of green manufacturing in Australia, we should be feeding that steel into an Australian electric arc furnace, not shipping it to Scandinavia on a foreign-flagged vessel."
MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said, "Towing the Northern Endeavour to Norway for dismantling is not just an absurd outsourcing of jobs-it's a 15,000-nautical-mile climate contradiction. By the time it gets there, we'll have burned more fuel hauling steel across oceans than it would take to recycle it here at home.
"The ALP's own platform commits to establishing a domestic decommissioning industry that secures local jobs and ensures world-class environmental standards. Yet here we are exporting a prime opportunity to do just that.
"Australia's offshore oil and gas infrastructure contains an estimated 3.7 million tonnes of high-quality ferrous metal, suitable for recycling into low-emissions steel. This represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to feed a sovereign green metals industry-if we keep that material onshore.
MUA National Assistant Secretary Thomas Mayo has also said "Every time we send a vessel like the Northern Endeavour overseas; we're not just exporting jobs-we're exporting the raw material for our own green steel future. That steel could be recycled here, by Australian workers, into the critical infrastructure of tomorrow."
Quotes attributable to Paul Farrow, National Secretary of The Australian Workers' Union:
"It is deeply disappointing to see the government considering shipping the Northern Endeavour overseas rather than harnessing this opportunity to support local industries and workers. Decommissioning offshore facilities domestically isn't just about preserving jobs-it's about creating new ones and bolstering our steel manufacturing capabilities.
"Australia's steel industry is ready and capable. We have workers prepared to do this job safely and efficiently, and our mills stand ready to recycle high-quality ferrous metals into vital infrastructure for our future. Sending these materials abroad is a significant missed opportunity for economic growth and job creation.
"We strongly urge the government to reconsider this proposal. The Northern Endeavour and other decommissioned facilities represent not just environmental responsibility, but an important economic opportunity for Australian industry and communities."
Key Points
- Australia has the capacity and the steel-we lack the political will.
- The Northern Endeavour deal undermines Labor's own "Future Made in Australia" agenda.
- Every FPSO shipped offshore is another nail in the coffin for sovereign industry and circular economy ambitions.
- If Norway, Scottland, Brunei and others can do it, why can't we?
- The ALP Platform (Clause 62) commits to building a domestic decommissioning industry-this deal breaches that platform.
- Minister King said she wants "as much investment spent backing Australian jobs"-why is this work going to Norway?
- The government must mandate domestic dismantling, especially when public liabilities are involved.
- There is 3.7 million tonnes of recyclable steel sitting off our shores-this could be the backbone of a low-emissions metals industry.
/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.
