Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

It is a fact that the steel transformation scheme was announced at the same time. There is no doubt about that. I acknowledge that, so I do not know what sort of 'gotcha' moment we are trying to have here. I think they have just completely lost it and gone gaga.

The fact is that this is a very important scheme that we have put in place, and those opposite should be listening to what the chief executive and chairman of BlueScope are saying. Their decision to cease exporting into those export markets had absolutely nothing to do with carbon pricing and everything to do with the high value of the dollar, which is putting enormous structural pressure on the steel industry. It has a lot more to do with the excess capacity in the steel industry, a lot more to do with very high input prices and a lot more to do with weakened demand for their products. Those were the four factors that were highlighted by the chairman and the chief executive. The two are linked in the sense that having an efficient industry in the future is critical.

As we go forward, all industries in this economy are going to have to become much more energy efficient. They are going to have to be able to invest in renewable energy and more efficient energy practices, and that is why the two were announced at the same time. All that these questions prove is that those opposite simply have not got a clue about how we put in place the policy settings for a modern economy to drive both investment and jobs for the future.

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