AUSTRALIANS should be asking a very simple question about the government’s decision to support Tomago Aluminium: how did we get here in the first place?
Tomago Aluminium is one of the Hunter’s most important industrial employers and a major contributor to the regional economy. Its future matters – not just to the thousands of people directly and indirectly connected to the smelter, but to the entire Hunter community.
Yet we now find ourselves in a position where the government is stepping in to help protect an energy-intensive industry from an electricity market that has become increasingly expensive and uncertain.
The irony is difficult to ignore. For years, governments have pursued increasingly ambitious Net Zero policies, promoting the rapid transition away from reliable, dispatchable power while relying more heavily on intermittent renewable generation.
At the same time, industry has been expected to absorb the consequences of rising energy costs, network costs and market uncertainty. Now, when one of the Hunter’s biggest industrial employers is under serious pressure, the government is being asked to help keep the lights on.
This is not a criticism of Tomago Aluminium. It is a criticism of the policy settings that have put Australian manufacturing in this position.
Tomago cannot simply switch off its furnaces when electricity prices spike and turn them back on when prices fall. Aluminium smelting requires enormous amounts of continuous electricity. It needs reliable, affordable power 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
That is precisely why energy policy matters. You cannot simultaneously claim that Australia is becoming an international manufacturing and industrial powerhouse while making the cost and reliability of energy increasingly difficult for major manufacturers to manage.
The government cannot continue to celebrate billions of dollars of investment in renewable energy while refusing to acknowledge the consequences for businesses that require reliable electricity.
And taxpayers should be entitled to ask: how much will this transition ultimately cost? If government policy contributes to an industry becoming uncompetitive, and government then has to provide financial support to prevent that industry from leaving Australia or shutting down, taxpayers are effectively paying twice – first for the policy transition and then to deal with the consequences of it.
The Hunter has already seen what happens when governments make major energy policy decisions without properly considering the impact on regional industry.
Tomago Aluminium is not just another business. It is part of the Hunter’s industrial backbone. It supports thousands of jobs, contractors, suppliers, families and local businesses.
If governments want to pursue Net Zero, they have a responsibility to explain how they intend to protect the industries and communities that built Australia’s economy along the way.
Net Zero cannot simply become a slogan while the bill is handed to Australian workers, manufacturers, businesses and taxpayers. There needs to be an honest conversation about energy security, affordability and reliability.
Australia has abundant energy resources. We should be using our natural advantages to provide reliable and affordable power to Australian industry while developing new technologies and reducing emissions responsibly.
Instead of continually announcing another subsidy, rescue package or intervention after industry is placed under pressure, governments should be asking a more fundamental question: Why are Australian businesses struggling to compete on energy in a country with some of the world’s greatest energy resources?
The answer cannot simply be that taxpayers will keep picking up the tab.
The government created the policy framework. It now has a responsibility to own the consequences.
The future of Tomago Aluminium – and the future of manufacturing in the Hunter – should not be determined by political slogans. It should be determined by reliable power, affordable energy, sensible policy and protecting Australian jobs.
Regards,
Troy Radford,
Tanilba Bay.
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