WILL GOODINGS, HOST: Prime Minister, good morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. It's wonderful to be in Adelaide and looking forward to heading up to Whyalla very soon.
DAVID PENBERTHY, HOST: So, you'll be up there this morning, PM. You probably don't want to steal your own thunder, but you clearly arrive bearing gifts. Are you in a position to talk, in a broad sense about what it is the Feds have got in mind?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's very clear, it's as simple as this: what we've got in mind is saving jobs and protecting manufacturing and looking after Australia's national interest and doing that in partnership with Peter Malinauskas and the South Australian Government here. Whyalla is absolutely critical to sovereign steel. It's one of only two Australian steelworks. I was in Port Kembla just last Friday and today I'll be in Whyalla. The steel – they do produce different products. Whyalla is the only domestic producer of steel long products and that helps to maintain Australia's infrastructure. There's a real national interest here. Railways, bridges, schools, hospitals, high rise towers, all of these things – defence assets – depend upon the Whyalla steelworks. So, it's absolutely critical, but as well, the opportunity that is there for green steel manufacturing is enormous and that will be increasingly lucrative as the world seeks to decarbonise.
GOODINGS: Prime Minister, is it so critical a resource that you gave any serious consideration in recent months to nationalising it, or would do in the event that no buyer is found in the short term?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we want it run by the private sector, but we've intervened here with the administration to make sure that while that process goes on, the steelworks continues to operate, people continue to get paid. We look after local businesses and the local community. Sometimes one particular facility is absolutely critical for an entire region. And the steelworks at Whyalla are the heart and soul of that fantastic town. This will be my second visit there as Prime Minister and I've been talking with Premier Malinauskas for some time now. We want to make sure that we do get this right.
GOODINGS: But the preference, Prime Minister, is private ownership. But are you ruling out nationalising it?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we think that there will be considerable interest in participating and running what is a successful operation in the future. I think Whyalla has a great future, and so does Peter. And together what we want to do is ensure that. I mean, the previous mob, when they were in government, told the car industry to bugger off, basically. As simple as that, on the front page of newspapers. And the consequences of that for manufacturing in this country, because of the shutdown of Elizabeth and South Australia was particularly impacted by that.
PENBERTHY: It was a bit more complicated than that. There was more going on. There were union issues, there were export issues brought about by the dollar. There was a lack of investment from Detroit. You know, that was an example of we don't want government throwing good money after bad.
PRIME MINISTER: And yeah, they did tell – they literally told the car industry to leave, literally. As simple as that – Joe Hockey, when he was the Treasurer. And what I want, what I want is for manufacturing to not just continue to exist here, but to grow and for a Future Made in Australia. One of the lessons of the pandemic is that if we're just at the end of supply chains, we're really vulnerable to global events. Be it a pandemic, conflict in the world, trade issues – we live in an uncertain world. And here in Australia, as an island continent, we need to be able to manufacture things and make things here. And that's what our whole Future Made in Australia agenda is about. Steel is particularly important for a whole range of industries and for a whole lot of construction. And I think here in South Australia, the combination of Whyalla, what's going on in the Spencer Gulf, what's going on with the defence industry, I think that Peter Malinauskas has a vision for South Australia. It's one that I share, one that sees an expanding South Australia that's growing, that's creating jobs. That's such an attractive place to live.
PENBERTHY: We just had the Premier on before, Prime Minister, where he announced that he is shelving, he's officially deferring his hydrogen plans. Living as we now do in, to use a Trumpism, the drill baby drill era – do you think that things like hydrogen, you know, these sort of untested renewables frolics should be set to one side so we can actually focus on keeping nuts and bolts operations like steelworks fully operational?
PRIME MINISTER: The only frolic in Australia that I can see is the nuclear frolic sometime in the 2040s and stop the world till that comes along and it'll cost $600 billion. What the South Australian Government have done is to reallocate some funding, but that doesn't mean that green hydrogen doesn't have a future in this country. I believe it clearly does and the whole world is looking at this. We see first mover advantage in across a whole range of industries. We live in a really fast changing world –
GOODINGS: Do we have a single green hydrogen project now in Australia that's progressing?
PRIME MINISTER: There are a range of companies are certainly looking at doing that investment, yes they are.
GOODINGS: But we had commitments and they've all been – they've all moved away from it, haven't they? I think this was the final one that was just announced 20 minutes ago. That's been reallocated.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's not right. But what Whyalla is about is looking at how do we provide that protection for the steelworks. The circumstances there aren't what either Premier Malinauskas or myself were looking for. But you have had this issue with creditors in South Australia as a result of what's occurred at Whyalla. And we're determined to make sure that Whyalla steelworks, not only survives but continues to thrive into the future.
PENBERTHY: Just finally, Prime Minister, you know, I know you're a big Hawks supporter. I know you were there at the 1989 Grand Final, in fact. So, you're not some Johnny-come-lately on the AFL. But we are footy mad here, needless to say, in South Australia, could –
PRIME MINISTER: I have noticed this fact and I'm not going to get into the Crows versus Power tension.
PENBERTHY: We just want to know, though, we've got this thing called Gather Round happening on the weekend of Saturday, April 12th. Is there anything else that might be getting in the way of our enjoyment of the footy on that Saturday?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, mate, I'm sure you'll be focused on Gather Round regardless of what's happening, you'll be focused – the question is, will you make it to work on the week beginning April 14th? That's the real question. Or will Will be left holding the mic?
GOODINGS: Oh, that's never happened before.
PRIME MINISTER: Get Lucy in from the front there to take your spot. That's the real question, mate.
PENBERTHY: We'll let the professionals run the show. Great to have you on PM. We look forward to seeing all the details out of your Whyalla announcement later this morning.