Putting jobs first in Northern Tassie

Power prices remain the greatest threat to Tasmania’s manufacturing sector. Despite a huge community campaign, and intensive effort from the delegates at Liberty Bell Bay, Australia’s only manganese smelter fell into liquidation in August, with over 200 workers made redundant. The AWU has been working closely with the state and federal governments, to ensure our members access their redundancy entitlements under the Federal Entitlements Guarantee, and helping them find work at other manufacturing facilities in Northern Tasmania.

Ultimately, uncompetitive power prices – set by the state-owned Hydro Tasmania – made the sale of the site unviable. It’s a frustrating and tragic loss for Northern Tasmania – but if we don’t take action now, it may not be the last.

Down the road at Bell Bay Aluminium, Rio Tinto and Hydro Tasmania have been negotiating a new power agreement, with the current deal set to expire in just a few months. Concerningly, the state government has been aggressively pursuing AI data centres in the region, which can pay much higher power prices than metal manufacturers.

This isn’t just about protecting one site anymore – Northern Tassie’s manufacturing sector as we know it is under existential threat. Tasmania’s hydro-electricity system is owned by the public. It was built to power our state, support our industries and keep Tasmanians in secure, well-paid jobs, not funnel power to data centres.

Across Tasmania, thousands of workers and their families are employed in facilities that depend on stable, affordable energy. The AWU will not stand by and allow data centres to rip manufacturing jobs out of Northern Tasmania.

So we’re stepping up our fight to save Bell Bay’s manufacturers, and we need the help of our members. The union is calling on every Tasmanian resident to join our campaign and sign the petition.

We’re calling for the state government to urgently intervene to:

• Secure a fair, globally competitive long-term power agreement for Bell Bay Aluminium;
• Pursue every viable option to secure a future for Liberty Bell Bay;
• Ensure Tasmania’s publicly owned energy businesses prioritise existing Tasmanian jobs and major industries;
• Secure the long-term future of Tasmania’s remaining major industrial sites;
• Deliver the new energy generation required to prevent any further industrial closures.

Between now and the end of the year, the AWU will be doing everything we can to help lock in a competitive power deal at Bell Bay Aluminium, and to help secure the future of manufacturing in Northern Tasmania!