Lake Macquarie MP Says State Can't Afford Tomago Extension

BY MARLEY RAE

Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper claims the state government won't be able to meet the Commonwealth's commitment to the Tomago Aluminum smelter. 

In December, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Federal Government will commit to extend the smelter's operations, requesting a 50/50 funding split with the state.

Premier Chris Minns has since outlined a potential $300 to $470 million reserved for the smelter, with the final amount to be announced in next month's state budget. 

However, Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper believes the 50-50 split is an unreasonable request.

"If he thinks it was going to be a 50-50 split with the state, then I think the state should have been involved in those discussions first," Mr Piper said.

"If the state can do it, great, but I suspect they are going to really struggle to find that kind of money.

"If we find that kind of money, it could be used in a better way."

The smelter, which directly employs 1500 workers, announced in October they were weighing up their future amid rising energy prices.

The company, which is majority owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, said it was struggling to see how operations were commercially viable beyond the expiration of its energy contract in 2028.

Mr Piper said an 80-20 split of the costs would be more suitable in the state's favour.

"Typically, major projects are an 80-20 split and I'm sure there are some examples that can been shown where that hasn't been the case," he said. 

"We're not really asking for much in this particular case, because Tomago isn't just some local business that benefits NSW, it's the largest aluminum smelter in Australia."

While the federal government has not allocated any funds for Tomago in their recent national budget, a figure is expected to be finalised once the state contribution is confirmed. 

Picture: Tomago Aluminum Smelter

Tomago Aluminium Talks Focusing on “More Renewable Energy” – Bowen

 Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says conversations are ongoing about the future of Tomago Aluminium.

Government agencies are reportedly working on a power purchase agreement, where the Federal Government would guarantee a long term stable price of electricity for the plant, which has warned it may be forced to close if power prices don’t come down.

Chris Bowen believes the solution to the manufacturer’s woes is to pump the grid with more renewables.

“We have [Government] agencies [that] have been looking to see whether we can’t provide more renewable energy to Tomago,” he said.

“Tomago’s management said when they announced they were considering Tomago’s future, the problem is there’s not enough renewable energy. Not that there’s too much, there’s not enough.

“We agree with that. So let’s see what more we can do,” he said.

Chris Bowen with Paterson MP Meryl Swanson, Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, Swansea MP Yasmin Catley, and Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery.

Green Energy Boost For Aluminium Industry Announced In The Hunter

 BY IAN CROUCH

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be in Tomago today to announce a support package for the aluminium industry.

As part of an election pitch the Albanese government is pledging $2 billion to encourage Australia's aluminium smelters to shift their reliance from fossil fuels to renewable.

The Financial review reports a 10 year production credit would be designed to turbo-charge the shift to green, low-carbon aluminium.

Producers like Tomago Aluminium would receive taxpayer support for every tonne of green aluminium they make in a decade to 2036.

Tomago Aluminium is the single largest consumer of power in Australia, consuming more than 10% of NSW energy supply.

The federal opposition has slammed the move saying weather dependent renewables are not the cheapest and will never sustain industry in Australia.

Tomago Aluminium set to benefit from green energy boost

Lyne MP David Gillespie Says Nuclear Power "Ticks All The Boxes"

BY IAN CROUCH

Federal Nationals Mp for Lyne, David Gillespie has taken a swipe at Labor's Net Zero Emissions Policy by 2050 saying it would be taking a wrecking ball to the Hunter's economy.

He's in Tomago today (Friday March 6) for a tour of the headquarters of Westrac, which provides heavy earth moving equipment to the mining industry and employs 3,500 staff nationwide.

Mr Gillespie is also due to meet with Tomago Aluminium CEO Matthew Howell later this month - the company employs 1,200 people locally.

He says Labor's policy threatens the future of these jobs and thousands of others in the associated mining, mechanical, manufacturing, tourism and coal chain sectors because it fails to provide a future for base load power which he says is vital for heavy industry.

David Gillespie says while the Morrison government is looking at clean energy technologies like, low emission clean coal, gas, solar, wind and nuclear, major energy users like Tomago Aluminium will still need a reliable source of base load power into the future.

"We're making a change to a cleaner mix, but we've got to keep our base load producers going because otherwise we won't have things like the Tomago Smelter, we won't have all the manufacturing and all those high-value jobs in the Hunter," he said.

Mr Gillespie also responded to comments made this week by his state Nationals colleague, Upper Hunter MP, Michael Johnsen who said establishing a nuclear power generator in the Upper Hunter "would be a good fit because of its extensive energy infrastructure".

While stopping short of supporting the move, which would involve lifting a ban on nuclear technology, Mr Gillespie said the new technology has been examined in a recent report to the federal government and was found to be safe and efficient.

"One of the recommendations was to consider removing the ban on the latest 3 plus and 4 generations of smaller modular reactors and the newer more efficient ones", he said. "Things have moved on" since the old generation 1 and 2 plants and the government is relying on the "technology road map" incorporating "exceptionally efficient" coal-burning power stations which he says will reduce the carbon footprint by 43 percent, while gas-fired power stations will reduce the footprint by 50 percent and nuclear is "even better" than solar and wind.

"We're agnostic at the moment - there are no plans to remove the ban, but certainly more and more people are talking about it because it ticks all the boxes," he said.

Nationals Federal Member for Lyne, Dr David Gillespie

BREAKING! Fire Crews Battling Blaze At Tomago Aluminium

BY IAN CROUCH

Firefighters are working to cool a furnace fire at the Tomago Aluminium Smelter.

Crews from Mayfield West, Tarro and Raymond Terrace and an RFS crew were called to the smelter just after 1.00am on Wednesday and immediately liaised with an emergency response team on site.

A small fire at the top of a furnace caused the temperature to rise to 700 degrees Celsius - electricity and gas supplies to the furnace have been isolated, however the fire has reignited  several times.

A spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW says crews are unable to use water on the fire because the mix of water and molten aluminium would create explosive hydrogen gas.

The furnace has now cooled to 280 degrees.

There's no immediate threat to surrounding properties, however it's likely to take several hours before the incident is fully contained.