00:03The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visited the
00:08Tomago smelter this morning to tout this $2.5 billion government funded bailout package
00:14for Tomago.
00:15Making sure that there is a future made right here in Australia and a future made right
00:23here in the Hunter.
00:24We will continue to build things in Australia.
00:27We could not turn our back on Tomago.
00:31Now Tomago is owned by Rio Tinto and the company did threaten to close this facility by 2029
00:38citing rising energy costs.
00:41Its current power deal lapses at the end of 2028 and it claimed that it was going to be
00:46too expensive to keep this facility running into the future.
00:51Now the Commonwealth Government and New South Wales Government quickly agreed that this
00:55facility is too important to lose not only for the Hunter's job market, this facility
01:00employs more than a thousand people directly and more than 5,000 indirectly but also the
01:06flow on revenue that comes from this facility in terms of the products that is created and
01:12sold here from Tomago.
01:13It's connected up with not just the jobs that are created directly here but the indirect jobs
01:20that will flow through the manufacturing sector right throughout this country.
01:24Tens of thousands of people employed in this supply chain, a vital national capability that
01:31delivers for workers in our outer suburbs and regions like the Hunter.
01:34Now the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this morning in defending the scale of the taxpayer
01:40funded bailout, he said that that is just exactly why it is way too important for the Australian
01:46taxpayer to lose.
01:48It is in our national interest to have an economy that has manufacturing that is not dependent
01:55upon something somewhere else occurring because we know that can lead to disruption.
02:01At the moment we have seen the supply chain disruption that has occurred in the Strait
02:06of Hormuz.
02:07There is impact in the entire global economy and what economies are looking at, not just
02:13us but others as well, are looking at is how do they become more resilient.
02:19This funding package will be split down the middle between the New South Wales Government and
02:24the Federal Government.
02:25There was a bit of tit for tat as to how the funding deal would be brokered.
02:29But Premier Chris Minns said that it was eventually agreed that the two governments would split
02:34it down the middle.
02:36We have struck an agreement with the Commonwealth Government around 50-50.
02:39We recognise this is based in New South Wales, it is hugely important for our economy and
02:44the Federal Government has come to the table with a big, big investment.
02:48Which is important both for Tomago and for the Hunter.
02:51But what we were able to do over the last three or four months and I am very grateful for
02:55the
02:55Prime Minister's intervention is solve a range of federal, state financing issues that have
03:00been on the table for a long time.
03:01But the PM stepped in and he solved it and we are very grateful.
03:06There was a large group of workers here at Tomago this morning to welcome the Prime Minister
03:11and hear the announcement.
03:12Some of them that we spoke to, younger workers in particular who were at the start of their
03:17careers say that this was a big relief that they have a little bit more job security into
03:21the future.
03:23And then older workers nearing the end of their careers said that this gives them a path to
03:27their retirement.
03:28This is what we were hoping for, a lot of relief, I think it's actually bore a bit of excitement
03:34as well.
03:35I think everyone's really keen to see what this is going to bring.
03:38So the workers here in the Hunter at Tomago this morning feeling a lot of relief but questions
03:43still remain as to the size of this government funded bailout package going to a private company,
03:50Rio Tinto.
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