Alcoa to close Kwinana Alumina refinery

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The announcement has come as no surprise to resource analysts who say the Kwinana refinery has been on life support for years. But the news has sparked a polarised reaction in political circles, with the plant's demise being described as both a "devastating outcome" and "an opportunity".

Transcript

00:00 After six decades on the Kwanana industrial strip, Alcoa has pulled the plug on its oldest

00:10 alumina refinery. Analysts say it's been a long time coming.

00:15 It's high cost, it's old, it's having trouble getting access to high quality ore.

00:21 Its two other refineries at Wagerup and Panjara in the south west are said to be much cheaper

00:27 to run. But the WA Liberals believe there are other dynamics at play, blaming the Cook

00:33 government.

00:35 The uncertainty that they have created surrounding red and green tape as well as energy supply

00:42 has created a situation which has led to this announcement today.

00:47 The Premier says he spoke to the Alcoa vice president on the phone last night and none

00:52 of that was raised.

00:54 In fact what he said is that he appreciated the work that the government's doing with

00:58 Alcoa to continue to make sure their operations remain viable.

01:02 EPA it's not okay. Tell Alcoa to go away.

01:08 While Alcoa itself says the decision has nothing to do with government policy, there have been

01:13 long running protests against the company's bauxite mining in WA's Jarrah forests.

01:22 The Greens say the refineries closure is an opportunity to focus on more sustainable industries.

01:28 But for now, alumina, which is exported to make aluminium, has still got a big future.

01:34 It will remain the case that Australia will be the second largest exporter of alumina

01:39 into the foreseeable future, notwithstanding the now loss of production at Kwanana.

01:44 The end of an era for one of WA's most important industrial plants.

01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended