The ETU’s campaign to secure the future of the Tomago aluminium smelter has delivered a major win for workers, the Hunter community and Australian industry.
For months, the ETU has fought to keep Tomago open alongside other unions, putting pressure on governments, advocating for public investment and making the case that Australia cannot afford to lose 1,000 skilled jobs or its critical aluminium manufacturing capability.
The hard work of the ETU has paid off, with a recent announcement from the Federal and NSW Governments that they will intervene to secure Tomago’s Future, with a joint investment of $2.5 billion. This intervention will add 3GW of additional renewable generation capacity. Rio Tinto, the owner of the Tomago site, will also invest $1.1 billion in upgrades to the facility to get it back on track.
Analysis from Energy & Resource Insights estimates the intervention could also create up to 3,900 direct renewable energy construction jobs and up to 130 ongoing roles, along with saving the existing 1000 jobs.
This announcement has demonstrated what workers can achieve when they organise and refuse to accept the closure of critical industries.
“Workers in Australia’s heavy industries have the skills to create the capable, resilient future that our country is seeking to build. Without them we cannot make steel, aluminium, copper, critical minerals or other key industrial inputs that run our economy.
“The steps by the federal and state governments are critical to this. And it also shows that the Albanese Government is committed to doing this energy transition the right way, building on our sovereign capability and protecting workers and their communities.
“Preserving the sites of capability where workers apply this skills to keep the country running is a first order priority and the Commonwealth and New South Wales governments have recognised that fact in today’s announcement.
“Like workers at other heavy industrial facilities around the country, their livelihoods, and our national resilience, have been subject to a private energy market failure.
“Time and again we have seen that privatised energy markets alone cannot supply the low-cost, long-term, large-scale renewable energy that Australian industry needs to be competitive.
“At a time when our sovereign capability is more important than ever it is crucial that government steps up – as it has today – rather than stepping back.
“We will continue to work with government to build a renewable energy future for Australia that breaks the bailout cycle, and provides a platform for industry to grow.
“In an era where electricity is as crucial to the national economy as currency itself, that is what workers need, it’s what industry needs, and it’s what the country needs.”
– Allen Hicks, ETU NSW / ACT Secretary