Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

Today BlueScope announced that it is withdrawing from the export business to focus on domestic markets and their international growth opportunities. They will return when business conditions improve. They have made a conscious choice to protect the long-term viability of Australian steel and that includes the viability of its export arm. The restructure will better position the company to maximise its profits and its viability in the long-term. They will work, for instance, with Nippon Steel to capitalise on next generation coated-steel products. They will launch them initially in Australia and then roll them out throughout the company's global markets. BlueScope have made it very clear that their decisions are about the long haul in Australia. As we saw with Holden, the opportunities are there to transform economic enterprises When other companies have been faced with these major structural changes, we have seen that it is possible to turn around a company— (Time expired)