❓ Dr. Honey questions the government's response to BHP's nickel business closure and the effectiveness of the nickel roundtable. The Minister defends the government's actions and criticizes Dr. Honey's past.
AnsweredQoN 38Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NICKEL INDUSTRY
38. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for State and Industry
Development, Jobs and Trade:
I refer to the announcement today
by BHP that it is closing its Kambalda nickel concentrator and reviewing the
rest of its operations with a view to potential closure. It indicated that the
closure of the nickel business will result in
the loss of more than 2 500 direct jobs and a further 7 500 associated jobs.
This announcement follows the closure of BP's Kwinana oil
refinery in 2021 and the January announcement that Alcoa will shut its Kwinana
alumina refinery this year.
(1) What is the
government doing to prevent the shutdown of BHP's nickel business in Western
Australia?
(2) Can the
minister explain why the recent highly publicised nickel round table with
federal minister Madeleine King has obviously been a complete failure in
supporting this critical industry?
The
SPEAKER : Just before I give you
the call, Premier, there has been a bit of a tendency of late to have
incredibly long preambles to
questions. That is not to say that you could not have got all that information
out in question form . A couple of those earlier bits of information
could have been put in the first question—for example, ''Are you
aware that BHP has done''—rather than in your own assertions. I ask
you to be mindful of that. Questions should be direct and should not have a long
story ahead them. That is more suited when raising a grievance or in another
form of debate.
38. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for State and Industry
Development, Jobs and Trade:
I refer to the announcement today
by BHP that it is closing its Kambalda nickel concentrator and reviewing the
rest of its operations with a view to potential closure. It indicated that the
closure of the nickel business will result in
the loss of more than 2 500 direct jobs and a further 7 500 associated jobs.
This announcement follows the closure of BP's Kwinana oil
refinery in 2021 and the January announcement that Alcoa will shut its Kwinana
alumina refinery this year.
(1) What is the
government doing to prevent the shutdown of BHP's nickel business in Western
Australia?
(2) Can the
minister explain why the recent highly publicised nickel round table with
federal minister Madeleine King has obviously been a complete failure in
supporting this critical industry?
The
SPEAKER : Just before I give you
the call, Premier, there has been a bit of a tendency of late to have
incredibly long preambles to
questions. That is not to say that you could not have got all that information
out in question form . A couple of those earlier bits of information
could have been put in the first question—for example, ''Are you
aware that BHP has done''—rather than in your own assertions. I ask
you to be mindful of that. Questions should be direct and should not have a long
story ahead them. That is more suited when raising a grievance or in another
form of debate.
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) If
we strip away the hyperbole, opinion and, quite frankly, the BS, from that
question, it essentially comes down to the issue of —
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr
R.H. COOK : We are continuing to
talk with the industry about how we can back it up, but the issues confronting the nickel industry at the moment are global and structural and, as a result,
they require significant effort by all levels of government to make sure that
we get the right levels of support and the right supports in the right places.
This will obviously be an important piece of work. BHP is confronting a massive
challenge to the global industry. It is a structural
issue, and it is one that we obviously take very seriously, particularly given,
as the member observed , that this involves a number of Western Australian
jobs. The member for Cottesloe tried to pile in all these other issues by
saying that somehow BP's decision to create a biofuels facility and a renewable
hydrogen facility at Kwinana is apparently a bad thing. BP recognises that we
are all part of a global energy transition. It is bringing that to Western Australia,
yet the member for Cottesloe said that that is a bad thing. That is how much he
is rooted in the past.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : He has also
never explained in this place why, when he was the head of Alcoa's refinery
in Kwinana, he did not upgrade the facilities with new technology so that it
could withstand the challenges of that industry. He has never declared his hand
in relation to the ultimate challenges that that refinery is facing. We are
used to him coming in here and regretting his past, and, now, unfortunately, he
is here to regret his future.
We will continue to work with
industry and government to ensure that we stand by the industry. We know that
the federal government will do so too, which is the reason Hon Madeleine King
sat down with industry to discuss its challenges—so
that she can work with her colleagues in the federal government to craft the
policies that will support the industry. It is great that we have a minister
like Minister King who is prepared to do that—to sit down with industry and have these conversations. We will
continue to make sure that we work with industry, other governments, the
Chamber of Minerals and Energy, the Association of Mining and Exploration
Companies and directly with BHP and the nickel miners to ensure that they
understand that we have their back.
we strip away the hyperbole, opinion and, quite frankly, the BS, from that
question, it essentially comes down to the issue of —
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr
R.H. COOK : We are continuing to
talk with the industry about how we can back it up, but the issues confronting the nickel industry at the moment are global and structural and, as a result,
they require significant effort by all levels of government to make sure that
we get the right levels of support and the right supports in the right places.
This will obviously be an important piece of work. BHP is confronting a massive
challenge to the global industry. It is a structural
issue, and it is one that we obviously take very seriously, particularly given,
as the member observed , that this involves a number of Western Australian
jobs. The member for Cottesloe tried to pile in all these other issues by
saying that somehow BP's decision to create a biofuels facility and a renewable
hydrogen facility at Kwinana is apparently a bad thing. BP recognises that we
are all part of a global energy transition. It is bringing that to Western Australia,
yet the member for Cottesloe said that that is a bad thing. That is how much he
is rooted in the past.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : He has also
never explained in this place why, when he was the head of Alcoa's refinery
in Kwinana, he did not upgrade the facilities with new technology so that it
could withstand the challenges of that industry. He has never declared his hand
in relation to the ultimate challenges that that refinery is facing. We are
used to him coming in here and regretting his past, and, now, unfortunately, he
is here to regret his future.
We will continue to work with
industry and government to ensure that we stand by the industry. We know that
the federal government will do so too, which is the reason Hon Madeleine King
sat down with industry to discuss its challenges—so
that she can work with her colleagues in the federal government to craft the
policies that will support the industry. It is great that we have a minister
like Minister King who is prepared to do that—to sit down with industry and have these conversations. We will
continue to make sure that we work with industry, other governments, the
Chamber of Minerals and Energy, the Association of Mining and Exploration
Companies and directly with BHP and the nickel miners to ensure that they
understand that we have their back.
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