❓ Mr. Cowper asks about Alcoa's contribution to WA. Minister Marmion details Alcoa's economic impact, employment figures, community support, and role in the state's gas policy, while also criticising the opposition's stance on the gas industry.
AnsweredQoN 272Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ALCOA PINJARRA ALUMINA
REFINERY
272. Mr M.J. COWPER to the Minister for
State Development:
The minister recently visited Alcoa's Pinjarra alumina
refinery, which is the biggest in the world. Can the minister please advise the
house on the contribution of Alcoa and the alumina industry to the state of Western
Australia?
REFINERY
272. Mr M.J. COWPER to the Minister for
State Development:
The minister recently visited Alcoa's Pinjarra alumina
refinery, which is the biggest in the world. Can the minister please advise the
house on the contribution of Alcoa and the alumina industry to the state of Western
Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Murray–Wellington for the question.
Alcoa has been around Western Australia for some 53 years, as the member for
Murray–Wellington knows, and it has been a great contributor to WA's
economy; indeed, thousands of jobs have been created over those 53 years by
Alcoa. I had the good fortune to visit the Pinjarra refinery, one of the
largest refineries in the world, some weeks ago when I was down in the member's
electorate. The Pinjarra refinery produces 4.5 million tonnes per annum of alumina,
and if we combine Alcoa's other operations at Kwinana and Wagerup, it
produces a total of nine million tonnes per annum of alumina, which is about
eight per cent of the world's total production. If we throw in the
South32's Worsley refinery in Western Australia, the total production
of alumina out of Western Australia is about 14 million tonnes per annum, which
is about 12 per cent of the global production of alumina. The bauxite for the
sourcing of these three refineries comes from two sources in the Darling Range—Huntly
and Willowdale. I visited the Huntly site a couple of years ago. Each year, 34 million
tonnes of bauxite is sourced from these sites.
Alcoa currently employs 3 900 employees with a payroll of $636 million
per annum, and 2 000 of its employees live in the electorates of the members
for Murray–Wellington, Mandurah and Dawesville. Each year Alcoa spends
about $1.4 billion on operations and capital, which represents huge capital and
operations expenditure in Western Australia. The industry as a whole, when we
throw in Worsley as well, employs 7 200 people in Western Australia, which is
terrific. The industry generates $78 million in royalties.
Alcoa is also very strong in community services and it gives back to
the community, as everyone knows. The industry supports science, technology,
engineering and mathematics subjects and has employed lots of graduates from
the University of Western Australia, including one graduate, Alan Cransberg,
who went on to become the managing director of Alcoa's Australian
operations, and who recently retired from that area. Alcoa also supports Sculpture by the Sea in the member for
Cottesloe's electorate, which is another very important community
project.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Thank you!
Mr W.R. MARMION : I will wind up, Mr Speaker. One of the
important things that Alcoa does is to support the state government's
domestic gas policy. It is the largest user of gas in Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Mandurah!
Mr B.S. Wyatt : What are you doing with that hand?
Mr W.R. MARMION : I will keep my hand down!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Question time is going to finish at quarter to three. I was hoping to
get another question in. I did not want to stop.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : I have just one more point, Mr Speaker. I was trying to say
that Alcoa supports our shale and tight gas industry and, indeed, it invests in
that area. It is very disappointing that members opposite do not support an industry that could provide
thousands of jobs and a lot of economic benefits to the state of Western Australia.
Alcoa has been around Western Australia for some 53 years, as the member for
Murray–Wellington knows, and it has been a great contributor to WA's
economy; indeed, thousands of jobs have been created over those 53 years by
Alcoa. I had the good fortune to visit the Pinjarra refinery, one of the
largest refineries in the world, some weeks ago when I was down in the member's
electorate. The Pinjarra refinery produces 4.5 million tonnes per annum of alumina,
and if we combine Alcoa's other operations at Kwinana and Wagerup, it
produces a total of nine million tonnes per annum of alumina, which is about
eight per cent of the world's total production. If we throw in the
South32's Worsley refinery in Western Australia, the total production
of alumina out of Western Australia is about 14 million tonnes per annum, which
is about 12 per cent of the global production of alumina. The bauxite for the
sourcing of these three refineries comes from two sources in the Darling Range—Huntly
and Willowdale. I visited the Huntly site a couple of years ago. Each year, 34 million
tonnes of bauxite is sourced from these sites.
Alcoa currently employs 3 900 employees with a payroll of $636 million
per annum, and 2 000 of its employees live in the electorates of the members
for Murray–Wellington, Mandurah and Dawesville. Each year Alcoa spends
about $1.4 billion on operations and capital, which represents huge capital and
operations expenditure in Western Australia. The industry as a whole, when we
throw in Worsley as well, employs 7 200 people in Western Australia, which is
terrific. The industry generates $78 million in royalties.
Alcoa is also very strong in community services and it gives back to
the community, as everyone knows. The industry supports science, technology,
engineering and mathematics subjects and has employed lots of graduates from
the University of Western Australia, including one graduate, Alan Cransberg,
who went on to become the managing director of Alcoa's Australian
operations, and who recently retired from that area. Alcoa also supports Sculpture by the Sea in the member for
Cottesloe's electorate, which is another very important community
project.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Thank you!
Mr W.R. MARMION : I will wind up, Mr Speaker. One of the
important things that Alcoa does is to support the state government's
domestic gas policy. It is the largest user of gas in Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Mandurah!
Mr B.S. Wyatt : What are you doing with that hand?
Mr W.R. MARMION : I will keep my hand down!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Question time is going to finish at quarter to three. I was hoping to
get another question in. I did not want to stop.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : I have just one more point, Mr Speaker. I was trying to say
that Alcoa supports our shale and tight gas industry and, indeed, it invests in
that area. It is very disappointing that members opposite do not support an industry that could provide
thousands of jobs and a lot of economic benefits to the state of Western Australia.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.