❓ Dr. Honey questions the government's response to the Alcoa Kwinana refinery closure, contrasting it with efforts in the nickel sector and Spain. The Minister defends the government's actions, citing the refinery's outdated technology and Alcoa's commercial decision.
AnsweredQoN 115Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ALCOA — KWINANA
REFINERY — CLOSURE
115. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for State and Industry
Development, Jobs and Trade:
My question is to the Premier as the
Minister for State and Industry Development, Jobs and Trade. I refer the
Premier to the announced closure of the Kwinana refinery.
(1) Did the
government meet with company and union representatives to develop options for
keeping the refinery operating, as governments and unions did in Spain to
protect the Alcoa refinery jobs there; and, if not, why not?
(2) Can the Premier explain the contrast between the
government's blase attitude to the Alcoa Kwinana refinery closure compared with its meetings with industry and the commonwealth
government over problems afflicting the nickel sector?
REFINERY — CLOSURE
115. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for State and Industry
Development, Jobs and Trade:
My question is to the Premier as the
Minister for State and Industry Development, Jobs and Trade. I refer the
Premier to the announced closure of the Kwinana refinery.
(1) Did the
government meet with company and union representatives to develop options for
keeping the refinery operating, as governments and unions did in Spain to
protect the Alcoa refinery jobs there; and, if not, why not?
(2) Can the Premier explain the contrast between the
government's blase attitude to the Alcoa Kwinana refinery closure compared with its meetings with industry and the commonwealth
government over problems afflicting the nickel sector?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. It is curious coming from him. As the member
very, very well knows, it has some of the
oldest and most outdated technology, and, from that point of view, is the least
commercial of all the Alcoa refineries. Member, Alcoa has been
signalling this to me as the member for Kwinana for many years. In fact, some
years ago, I think, the head of Alcoa at the Kwinana refinery actually made
that observation to me. So I am not quite
sure why the member is asking this question. It is a little uncomfortable . Obviously, we talked to Alcoa extensively
before it ultimately made the decision around the Alcoa refinery. As the
vice-president of the Western Australian operation has said, both privately to
me and publicly in the media, its decision around the closure of the Kwinana
refinery had nothing to do with the inaction or because of the actions of the Western Australian government. It was
simply part of making sure it had the most
commercial operation in Western Australia. In particular, it wants to focus on
the Pinjarra and Worsley plants because they utilise much more modern
technology, which makes them much more commercial and profitable refineries.
Obviously, it will continue to utilise the refinery in Alcoa Kwinana as a port
landing or a port operation. We are all very sad for Alcoa to have made that
decision, but we respect that decision. We worked with the company very
carefully and over a period on that decision. Of course, we talked with the
unions in that regard.
I have no idea what the member is
referencing in relation to Spain. As I reflected earlier in my answer, the
member knows very well the issues involved in that refinery.
thank the member for the question. It is curious coming from him. As the member
very, very well knows, it has some of the
oldest and most outdated technology, and, from that point of view, is the least
commercial of all the Alcoa refineries. Member, Alcoa has been
signalling this to me as the member for Kwinana for many years. In fact, some
years ago, I think, the head of Alcoa at the Kwinana refinery actually made
that observation to me. So I am not quite
sure why the member is asking this question. It is a little uncomfortable . Obviously, we talked to Alcoa extensively
before it ultimately made the decision around the Alcoa refinery. As the
vice-president of the Western Australian operation has said, both privately to
me and publicly in the media, its decision around the closure of the Kwinana
refinery had nothing to do with the inaction or because of the actions of the Western Australian government. It was
simply part of making sure it had the most
commercial operation in Western Australia. In particular, it wants to focus on
the Pinjarra and Worsley plants because they utilise much more modern
technology, which makes them much more commercial and profitable refineries.
Obviously, it will continue to utilise the refinery in Alcoa Kwinana as a port
landing or a port operation. We are all very sad for Alcoa to have made that
decision, but we respect that decision. We worked with the company very
carefully and over a period on that decision. Of course, we talked with the
unions in that regard.
I have no idea what the member is
referencing in relation to Spain. As I reflected earlier in my answer, the
member knows very well the issues involved in that refinery.
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.