After working hard behind the scenes for weeks, the state government has finally stepped up to the plate with an offer to help keep Illawarra steelmaking alive.
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Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian announced the Baird government would provide tax concessions to help BlueScope Steel during a brief visit to the Port Kembla steelworks on Monday.
The “one-off, unique solution” provides a structured deferral of payroll tax of up to $60 million over three years.
“The government has been working hard behind the scenes with BlueScope management to come to this positive outcome,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Everybody has looked at the situation, looked at what is in the best interest of workers of the Illawarra and made decisions accordingly.”
The government assistance was made possible by its “strong budget position”, the Treasurer said.
Asked about the delay in making an announcement, Ms Berejiklian said the BlueScope board met late last week and “we always knew that would be a time frame around which government was working”.
“The government had a number of options before it ... and it was very important for us to make sure we worked very closely with management,” she said.
“This is no joke, this is serious stuff. It’s about getting it right and it’s about making sure we have ongoing viability into the future.
“That’s why it was so critical for us to do what was right by the workers and by management and make sure we got a positive outcome.”
The Treasurer joined Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward in paying tribute to the wage and conditions sacrifices made by workers and the unions.
“Without that initial decision it would have been very, very difficult to be seeing the results we’re seeing today [Monday],” Mr Ward said.
“This was never about good politics, this was always about doing the right thing for the region.”
Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts said the government would work with the Commonwealth and other stakeholders to support workers affected by BlueScope’s restructure.
After the payroll tax deferral period, BlueScope will make payments – totalling the full deferred amount – in increments over ten years from 2020 to 2029, on top of normal payroll tax payments.
