Facing union claims that the aluminium sector will collapse without government support, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that Labour will ensure the sector has a secure future, according to a report by The Australian Financial Review.
In expressing her support for the sector, Ms Gillard dismissed Treasury modelling that under global carbon pricing, Australia's aluminium industry faces a decline of up to 50 per cent amid a restructure of the broader economy.
“We want to see an aluminium sector in this country, which is why we will continue to work with Alcoa and with the aluminium industry to ensure that it does have a future in this country,” Ms Gillard said, according to the AFR. “The average impact of the carbon price on the aluminium sector is the equivalent of a one cent increase in the exchange rate with the US ... that gives a sense of the order of magnitude.”
Ms Gillard stressed that the strength of the Australian dollar was the key point of pressure on the industry.
The Australian Workers Union had earlier said the aluminium sector would collapse without support from the government.
AWU secretary Paul Howes met with Ms Gillard yesterday, along with senior government ministers, a group of Alcoa workers and Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews, according to the AFR.
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