Interstate and imported steel goes into the yet-to-be completed western grandstand at WIN Stadium. Picture: KIRK GILMOUR.

Aerial images of Wollongong’s WIN Stadium and new western grandstand and, in the background, BlueScope Steel’s Port Kembla plant. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

Chinese steel was used to build WIN Stadium's western grandstand as BlueScope Steel struggled for survival just 2km away in Port Kembla.The Mercury can reveal 60 per cent of the steel used to construct the grandstand came from Victorian manufacturer OneSteel and the remaining 40 per cent from China.There are fresh demands for protectionist laws that mandate the use of Australian steel in similar government projects after BlueScope axed 1100 Port Kembla employees and contractors on Monday.Unions are angry governments and the private sector are using cheap steel imports at the expense of Australian jobs.

EDITORIAL: "If BlueScope, and our steel industry, is to survive, which it can as a domestic and boutique producer, then the existing procurement system must change."The decision to exclude BlueScope from the $29 million taxpayer-funded redevelopment was made last year, despite the troubled steelmaker's long involvement with other stadium projects.It also occurred despite a request from Illawarra Venues Authority chairman Chris Christodoulou to incorporate Port Kembla products in the new grandstand."Early in the project I asked that consideration be given to using locally-produced steel but I was told that would be against state government policy because it would be against free trade agreements," Mr Christodoulou said yesterday.The Port Kembla steelworks has been involved in some of the country's biggest stadium developments, providing some of the 130,000 tonnes of steel products used in the construction of venues for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.Minister for the Illawarra Greg Pearce sought to deflect the matter yesterday."The former Labor government, including (Member for Wollongong) Noreen Hay, have questions to answer as to why no local steel was used in the construction of the stadium," Mr Pearce said.But when asked if the Coalition would commit to using Port Kembla steel for future infrastructure projects, Mr Pearce was non-committal, pointing to a "wide-ranging review" of how goods and services are sourced.Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon estimated the NSW Government was planning roughly $50 billion in public infrastructure spending."It's early days but I think the Government may realise, in light of events on Monday, that more needs to be done for procurement policies," he said."We think they need to dust off the previous government's policy."Former ALP Member for Throsby Jennie George tried to convince colleagues of the need to support the steel industry in 2009 and while push led to some changes, it did not produce a full-blown federal procurement policy."I don't think the cheapest price should be the only motivator, particularly when industries like steel are important employment generators and underpinning regional economies like they do in the Illawarra," Ms George said yesterday.She also questioned whether protectionism would threaten free trade agreements, saying trading partners have procurement policies to protect vulnerable industries.Ms Hay could not be contacted for comment yesterday while the stadium's builder, construction company Lipman, declined to comment.

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Western grandstand no help for BlueScope

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