Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, because that was very selective quoting indeed by the Leader of the Opposition—something we have become completely accustomed to. As has been made clear by Hydro Aluminium over a considerable period of time, there are a number of factors that are influencing this decision and the financial losses that they are incurring—essentially, the effects of growth in global supply in aluminium, the strong value of the Australian dollar over a period of time, the ongoing effects of the global financial crisis, and in fact nothing less than a 40 per cent depreciation—

Mr Baldwin interjecting—

in the price of aluminium on the London Metals Exchange. I have met the company—it is in my region—discussed these issues and discussed the pressures on the company. I spoke to a company representative again today in relation to this issue who emphasised to me that the announcement today is not driven by the implications of the carbon price; it is driven by the current pressures leading to the current financial losses that the company is incurring. You should not misrepresent this.

Mr Baldwin interjecting—

The member for Paterson, before question time, took glee in the pressure that these workers and their families are experiencing. You should be ashamed—you should be ashamed of the position that you articulated, and the Leader of the Opposition should represent the facts.

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