Rio Tinto’s aluminium smelter at Bell Bay in Tasmania. Photo: Rio Tinto.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a $2 billion investment to incentivise the use of renewable energy by Australia’s aluminium industry.
The investment will come in the form of tax credits that will support the switch to renewable energy by aluminium smelters before 2036. Facilities will be eligible for support for every tonne of aluminium produced over the next decade.
Aluminium production has traditionally been a high consumer of power, relying primarily on coal-fired power stations for smelters. The reliance on coal has influenced the location of smelters, with five large bauxite mines, six alumina refineries and four aluminium smelters all located in regional areas such as the NSW Hunter Valley, Gladstone in Queensland, and Portland in Victoria.
The government says these credits will provide confidence for the aluminium smelters to invest in renewable energy sources, paving the way for more secure jobs in the aluminium industry.
It says Australia has all the ingredients for a world-leading metals industry – from the best solar and wind resources, to the critical minerals and facilities, as well as a highly skilled workforce.
Australia is unique in having most or all of its aluminium supply chain located locally, from the raw material bauxite to the coal and the renewable energies used to power the smelters, to the finished products.
Mr Albanese said the government’s Future Made in Australia plan was designed to make more things locally.
“Investing in the Australian-made aluminium industry is a massive opportunity – to create well-paid jobs in our regions and suburbs, and set Australia up for the future,” he said.
“We’ve got the resources, the workers, and the know-how – the only thing we don’t have is time to waste.
“If there is a lesson from the pandemic, it’s that Australia cannot continue to be just at the end of supply chains, be vulnerable as a national economy by not making things here.
“We need to be more than a quarry. We need to be a country that value-adds ourselves, not that exports the raw material, waits for someone else to create jobs and value-add and then import the products back.”
Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic added: “Jobs up, emissions down and a secure future for our world-class aluminium industry.
“With an entire aluminium supply chain uniquely located right here in Australia, we’re well positioned to capture the rewards of the global green energy transition.”
Assistant Minister for Future Made in Australia Tim Ayres said the aluminium sector was a critical value-add industry for Australia and a crucial part of the Future Made in Australia plan.
“This package guarantees good blue-collar jobs in the Hunter, Central Queensland, northern Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria,” he said.
Regional Community Alliances described the announcement as a great win for its community.
“This is a great win for the Hunter community, not only for the workers at the Tomago Aluminium smelter and the supporting industries, but for their families,” Hunter Community Alliance lead organiser Erin Killion said.
Queensland Community Alliance community organiser Elise Ganley added: “This investment exemplifies what the Gladstone community needs and that is certainty.
“By seizing this opportunity to secure jobs at the Boyne smelter, and showcasing renewable energy as the best choice for high-quality manufacturing, the Federal Government is prioritising regional communities to the benefit of all Australians.”
Aluminium production is the highest single user of electricity in NSW and Queensland. Photo: Screenshot – Tomago Aluminium Company.
At a media conference at Tomago near Newcastle on Monday, Rio Tinto Australia CEO Kellie Parker thanked the government for believing in the aluminium industry.
“This has been a long road to find a pathway for the future for aluminium, and I am incredibly proud of the work that my team have done and the aluminium industry has done to work with this government on finding a future, particularly for this smelter here, the best smelter in Australia with the best technology,” she said.
“We’re incredibly pleased with the announcement. This is a belief in manufacturing, it’s a belief in jobs and it’s a belief in the aluminium industry.”
However, Opposition Leader and aspiring prime minister Peter Dutton has poured cold water on the plan, saying it will push up the price of electricity even further in this country.
“The Prime Minister went to the last election promising a $275 reduction in power prices – power prices are up by $1000,” he said at a media conference on Monday.
“Now the Prime Minister is promising the Australian public that their power prices will go even higher and the likelihood of blackouts and brownouts in our country will only increase with this policy announcement.
“It’s not something that we’re going to support and we’re going to make sure that we can get energy prices down.”
