Almost 1,000 jobs look like they will be going soon at Alcoa’s Geelong aluminium smelter, which has not received any capital expenditure for many years and is only operating thanks to a favourable electricity deal with the state’s electricity providers. This deal is ending within two years. The Australian dollar is sky-high thanks to mining, which makes any of our value-adding efforts very difficult to export at inflated prices. All of the major power transmission players recognise the shift in the landscape also, and have invested in supplying conveyor equipment and drilling consumables. In closing this section, I will read an excerpt from the Australian Aluminium Council... “Australia’s world-class alumina and aluminium operations will continue to add value to Australia’s vast bauxite reserves and to underpin regional economies around Australia — provided that the international competitiveness of our industry is maintained, particularly in relation to the impact of government policy.” That is a pretty big proviso...
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