Securing our smelters in Tasmania

The Tasmanian Branch has pulled out all the stops in the fight to save the future of Liberty Bell Bay, Australia’s last manganese smelter and one of George Town’s biggest employers. In March, the smelter, run by GFG Alliance, entered voluntary administration, putting over 200 jobs at immediate risk. The AWU and other unions onsite at Liberty Bell Bay – The MEU, AMWU and CEPU – immediately launched a community campaign to secure government funding while administrators sought to find a buyer and get operations back on track.

The community backing Liberty Bell Bay

Australia can’t afford to let Liberty Bell Bay fail. The smelter supports hundreds of high-quality, well-paid jobs in regional Tasmania, and contributes significantly to the local economy. And Liberty Bell Bay isn’t just a key employer; it’s a vital piece of Australia’s manufacturing network. Manganese is a critical input to steelmaking, and the smelter has supplied BlueScope and Whyalla in the past. If we lose Australia’s last manganese smelter, we lose the opportunity to make Australian steel without relying on imported products.

Hundreds of workers stepped up to support the fight, whether that was door-knocking in the George Town Area, sharing the petition, and attending the unions’ rally and community forum. A huge thank you to every single AWU member who joined our fight. In just a couple of short weeks, over 3,000 members of the public signed our petition calling for government intervention.

Several weeks later, both state and federal governments stepped up, announcing a joint $3 million package to secure wages for the smelter’s workforce as negotiations continued in search of a buyer. This was a welcome reprieve, but far from the end of the fight, and the AWU and other unions continued to push for a stronger commitment as the administration continued.

Finally in June, the administrators announced a new consortium of buyers had been selected, with funding for wages and operations guaranteed until the end of July, as the site actively proceeds towards a sale. The AWU continues to monitor the process and remains actively engaged with the administrators. While we aren’t out of the woods yet, the future at Liberty Bell Bay looks considerably brighter than it did several months before, and the AWU is continuing to fight for certainty and security for our members.

The outlook is also better at the Nystar smelter in Hobart, and its sister site in Port Pirie, where state and federal governments have committed a further $105 million of funding to shore up operations until the end of the year. It will also fund a two-year feasibility study to expand the production of critical minerals.

Our smelting capacity, in both George Town and Hobart, is crucial to realising a Future Made in Australia. The AWU will keep fighting to save our smelters!