Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

South Australia's economy has had a very tough time since the election of this government. We have seen the car industry basically being shipped out; we have seen enormous consternation over submarines, when it was always a given that they should be built in Adelaide; and we now see troubles in steel, in particular with Arrium up in Whyalla.

The South Australian government and the minister responsible, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis, who is a longstanding friend of mine, have put to the federal government that they should be involved in discussions to save this plant, to make sure that we remain a country that can make steel for vital infrastructure projects. The government's approach to this, of course, has been as confused and contradictory as everything else under the Turnbull government. Say what you like about Mr Abbott; at least we knew where we stood with him. On Friday Mr Pyne told reporters in Adelaide, 'We're not in the business of giving taxpayers' money to businesses that are struggling.' But he then confirmed that they remained in discussions with the state government about the best way to provide help. Labor has a clear policy on this: we believe in steelmaking. We believe that steelmaking is important to South Australia and an important national capacity to have. That is one of the reasons that the Leader of the Opposition wrote to Malcolm Turnbull and suggested a number of things, ensuring—

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