Premier's visit - an update from the Mayor
As you may have seen in the media, the Premier and other State Government politicians were in Whyalla yesterday, so I wanted to provide an update to the local community on the purpose of the visit.
On behalf of the Whyalla community, Council’s CEO and I met with the State Government’s Hydrogen and Upper Spencer Gulf Cabinet Sub-Committee and shared the deep concerns we have for the Whyalla community and economy, given we have been ‘in limbo’ for some time regarding the future of the steelworks.
I confirmed that the frustration from many people in the community is turning to anger, with the current situation leading many business and community members to a state of despair, particularly given the impact that the ongoing lack of work / payments / business is having on them directly.
I also stated the importance of the local community being provided direct and regular updates from all key stakeholders, given the rising anxiety and uncertainty in our community that is exacerbated by the ongoing media frenzy and sensational headlines.
Whilst appreciating the complexity of the issues at hand, I confirmed that time is of the essence before the situation becomes even more dire for those being impacted.
We received assurances from the Premier that:
a) The State Government will not allow the steelworks to fail and is doing a significant body of work to plan for any scenario
b) Discussions are continuing between the State Government and Federal Government to deliver certainty regarding the path forward for Whyalla
I am adamant that Whyalla’s future – and the significant role it will play in terms of sovereign capability regarding steelmaking and manufacturing – will require significant investment by GFG Alliance, the State Government and the Federal Government, and council will continue advocating on behalf of the community to see those investments are made.
On top of this advocacy for our community, we will continue getting on with our job of running our city and providing local government services to our community.
I appreciate the collegiate support of my fellow Upper Spencer Gulf Mayors, as well as our united Whyalla elected member team. Further, I recognise the huge amount of work being done by council’s administration to work through current challenges and, at the same time deliver major, once-in-a-generation projects to improve the liveability and amenity of our city.