Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have an energy crisis in this country and it is hurting Australian industry, our workers and our competitiveness in the global economy. That is the backdrop to the industrial action taken by 1,600 Alcoa workers who have now been on strike for 40 days in the Peel region. This strike is the result of over 18 months of failed negotiations with Alcoa over a new EBA. But the EBA dispute is only a symptom of the absurdly high costs of power in Australia.

Alcoa want their Australian operations to remain globally competitive. Alcoa workers want job security. Both are worthy objectives and both are necessary for our long-term prosperity and security. But a decade of failed energy policy at a national and state level, driven by green ideologues committed to deindustrialisation, now threatens Alcoa and its workers. Put simply, the high cost of energy in Australia is making us less productive and less competitive. It is killing industry and Australian jobs.

I think of the Alcan smelter in Kurri Kurri that closed in 2012: 500 jobs, gone. I think of the Alcoa Port Henry smelter in Geelong closed in 2014: 800 jobs, gone. The local green group leader, Dr Jacinta Morahan, called it a win. The AWU secretary at the time, Ben Davis, said workers were gutted, and rightly so. The Rio Tinto Gove alumina refinery permanently closed in 2017: 1,100 jobs, gone. And the Alcoa Portland smelter is only open because of state and federal government subsidies: 800 jobs at stake. Now we are feeling the heat in WA, as workers out west are forced to pay for the reckless mistakes made by governments in the eastern energy market. Alcoa has operated in the Peel region for over 40 years. Their mines at Huntly and Willowdale produce bauxite for over 45 per cent of Australia's alumina. Their refineries at Wagerup and Pinjarra are two of only six in the country. You can't imagine the Peel region without Alcoa.

Alcoa's investment in the Peel region has given people the dignity of work and provided a living for many families. The average Alcoa worker in the Peel region stays with the company for about 20 years. Alcoa pays a good salary to employees and has a longstanding tradition of generously supporting local community projects. This is why this strike is so significant to our region. Alcoa want to remain competitive and profitable, and Alcoa workers rightly want security. One does not need to win at the expense of the other. Workers don't want forced redundancies, labour hire and contract work, not for their families or their communities. And I hear their concerns.

Its 1,600 workers are members of our local footy clubs. They're volunteer surf lifesavers. Their kids attend local schools and spend their money supporting local businesses. Without secure work it is far more difficult to put down roots. It's harder to take out a mortgage, it's harder to make investments and it's harder to pay school fees and to pay for health care. This strike has come at a huge cost. Families are doing it tough, and I know many partners are working extra hours to make ends meet.

My message to Australian workers in the Peel and beyond is simply this: Australian industry and Australian workers must come first. When it comes to energy, we must put the Australian people before Paris. That is why the Morrison government is committed to getting power prices down for Australian working families, seniors and industry. Without cheap power this country will suffer a loss in living standards and in its competitiveness. This will hurt business, particularly energy-intensive industries like Alcoa's alumina refinement.

So we need Alcoa and the AWU and associated unions to sit down and land this agreement. We need both Alcoa and the workers to win. We need Labor to look workers in the eye and tell them the truth about their energy plans: their commitment to a 45 per cent emissions reduction target and a 50 per cent renewables target will destroy industry and Aussie jobs. We need an energy policy that provides a secure future for working families, seniors and industry before it's too late, because, as industry collapses here, it expands in China, fuelled by Australian coal and gas. Our workers deserve better. The Morrison government's No. 1 priority, therefore, is cheaper energy and Australian jobs.

See this speech in context