Independent candidate for Wollongong Arthur Rorris says his plan to defend the security of steel and manufacturing workers is ‘‘already making waves’’.
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Under the slogan ‘‘Make it here, buy it here – don’t sell out our steel workers’’, Mr Rorris revealed four key principles to protect jobs and the industry’s future on Friday.
Mr Rorris – who announced his resignation from the Australian Labor Party on February 11 to run at next month’s state election – said he was ‘‘saying things everyone in the region thinks, but no one has got the guts to say in politics’’ about steel, manufacturing and procurement.
He said when taxpayers’ money was used to build infrastructure, they had the right to expect the material would be sourced from this region.
‘‘Every other major country protects its industries in the name of national security ... we let it all go offshore,’’ Mr Rorris said.
‘‘I’ve put out a plea to open up the debate again about buying here ... if taxpayers are the ones that are buying, taxpayers should be the ones choosing where the steel comes from.
‘‘We say the steel should come from Port Kembla for government projects.’’
Among Mr Rorris’s priorities is a long-term plan encouraging steelmakers to use Illawarra coal mines in the production process and ‘‘reduce the uncertainty in input costs’’.
Reserving at least 20per cent of the region’s natural gas for domestic use and emerging clean energy and technology industries being actively supported by government are included in the list.
Mr Rorris said politicians who could work across all three levels of government were needed to stand up for jobs.
‘‘I am putting up my hand as an independent to do just that,’’ he said.
Mr Rorris also met with unions and the Illawarra Business Chamber this week to discuss ideas to expand operations out of Port Kembla.