00:00A struggling copper smelter thrown a financial lifeline.
00:07This is an investment in the future industrial capability of the Northwest Province.
00:12Mining giant Glencore will receive a $600 million taxpayer-funded bailout
00:18to keep the Mount Isa facility and Townsville refinery afloat for another three years.
00:25We recognise that there's still tough times ahead of us.
00:29The announcement made alongside some of the 600 workers whose jobs have been saved.
00:36The package split 50-50 between the federal and state governments is contingent on reviews and a business viability study.
00:45I made a commitment to the Mount Isa community that I wouldn't see it wither, that I wouldn't see this community die.
00:51It would have been devastating for our economy, I guess for our population if we would have dropped dramatically.
00:58Some locals say the reprieve will be short-lived.
01:02It does feel a little bit like a band-aid fix.
01:05I guess a good analogy for today is that it's the half-time and the grand final.
01:08They've got to half-time, they're in the game, but there's a lot to go before we can start popping champagne corks.
01:14The Mount Isa facility provides half of Australia's copper smelting capacity and is a vital link for other regional businesses.
01:22What it means for us in North Queensland is we are seeing the 17,000 jobs in our region sustained.
01:30Glencore is the latest multinational corporation to receive a taxpayer-funded lifeline.
01:36But the federal and state government have defended the bailout, declaring it's in the national interest due to soaring power prices and global competition.
01:47Wyala Steelworks in South Australia received a $2.4 billion rescue package earlier this year.
01:54There's a good opportunity in Australia right now to say what do we own these assets for, what do we want to do with them?
01:59And do we want to just keep saving them every few years or do we want to reform them so they're there in the future?
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