Mr Pyne came under fire from steel campaigners and some Illawarra politicians for his continued silence during the fight to keep the Illawarra steelmaking plant open. 

The Mercury even asked ‘Where’s Pyney?’ on its front page in December and now, almost three months after BlueScope revealed it would continue making steel at Port Kembla, the minister has made his stance known.

In an opinion piece penned for the Mercury, Mr Pyne acknowledged there was “always room for improving” the government’s support of the steel industry, citing the role it has played in Australia’s development.

“From the early modern blast furnaces at Eskbank to later steel mills at Newcastle, Port Kembla, Whyalla, and Western Port, the industry has been part of our nation-building efforts, providing material for building our railways, aircraft, cars, homes, offices and appliances,” he said.

“In recent years, however, the global market for steel has become more dynamic than ever, resulting in continuing challenges for the Australian steel industry.

“The Australian government supports a competitive Australian steel industry. We are also committed to supporting Australian workers.”

Mr Pyne said the industry was “better off” thanks to the removal of the “job-destroying Carbon Tax”, coupled with a recent strengthening of anti-dumping measures.

“The government is very much aware of the challenges the industry faces and we particularly take any reports of dumping that is causing real damage to our steel industry seriously,” he said. 

“We are doing everything we can to ensure Australian manufacturers are able to compete on a level-playing field.”

OPINION: Levelling the playing field for Australia’s steel industry

The Australian steel industry has played a vital role in our nation’s development for over a century.

From the early modern blast furnaces at Eskbank to later steel mills at Newcastle, Port Kembla, Whyalla, and Western Port, the industry has been part of our nation-building efforts, providing material for building our railways, aircraft, cars, homes, offices and appliances.

In recent years, however, the global market for steel has become more dynamic than ever, resulting in continuing challenges for the Australian steel industry.

The Australian Government supports a competitive Australian steel industry. We are also committed to supporting Australian workers.

One of the first actions of the Coalition Government once elected was to remove the job-destroying Carbon Tax. This is a tax which both Labor and the Greens intend to bring back should they win the next election.  

The Government is very much aware of the challenges the industry faces and we particularly take any reports of dumping that is causing real damage to our steel industry seriously.

We are doing everything we can to ensure Australian manufacturers are able to compete on a level-playing field with overseas businesses exporting goods to Australia.

This is the rationale behind recent reforms to Australia’s anti-dumping system, which has been strengthened significantly and now addresses many of the concerns raised by Australian industry.

The Anti-Dumping Commissioner can now impose provisional duties while an investigation is underway and where I am satisfied that an exporter has been uncooperative in an investigation.

Exporters under investigation will also have a shorter period to provide their submission to the Commissioner after the deadline for submissions was reduced.

Information support is an important area for anti-dumping work. Australian companies now have new and expanded information and support services, including the Anti-Dumping Information Service, to conduct market research that assists anti-dumping investigators.

The Government knows some overseas exporters try to circumvent the anti-dumping duties that are currently in place.

In particular, we are aware of the emerging behaviours where overseas exporters try to modify their goods slightly to avoid dumping detection. The recent reforms include new regulations aimed at preventing such behaviours.

There have been a number of successes in tackling steel dumping in Australia.

In response to applications by Australian steel producers, the Anti-Dumping Commission has, in recent years, undertaken a record number of investigations into steel imports.

It has also applied a record number of measures against these imports, the most recent example being the Government’s announcement in late November that it will impose anti-dumping duties on steel reinforcing bar (rebar) exported from Korea, Singapore, Spain and Taiwan.

Covering seven countries, this anti-dumping investigation is the second largest investigation undertaken by the Anti-Dumping Commission in terms of the number of countries involved.

The resulting imposition of anti-dumping duties will help local rebar manufacturer OneSteel compete with overseas manufacturers and allow the Australian industry to stay in the game.

Following the record number of investigations conducted and the imposition of measures on the majority of products made by Australian steel producers, the Commission has now shifted its focus to identifying and remedying circumvention activities.

The Government acknowledges that there is always room for improving our support for Australian industry, including the steel industry.

Over the last few months the Government has been consulting with the industry, specifically the big steel companies, toexplore opportunities for further reform to Australia’s anti-dumping regime.

We also continue to work with the states and territories through the Building Ministers’ Forum and the COAG Industry and Skills Council to tackle issues affecting the steel industry.

As part of our work in the Building Ministers’ Forum, we are investigating non-conforming and non-compliant building products and we expect to see reports on these issues for consideration by Ministers next February.

Within COAG’s Industry and Skills Council, government procurement is an area of focus.

At our last meeting in November, council members supported procurement policies that promote growth of Australian industry and consider Australia’s international obligations and best practice.

We agreed to will investigate what opportunities there are for increasing economic and industry growth through government procurement.

I want to stress that the Australian Government is committed to providing Australian industry with full, fair and reasonable opportunity to participate in major projects under the Australian Industry Participation Framework.

Today, the steel industry is better off without the carbon tax. The exclusion of steel production from the renewable energy target is also good for the steel industry.

The steel industry is an important part of Australian manufacturing. The Government will continue to monitor and evaluate our anti-dumping reforms to deternine whether further action is needed.

We will also continue to pursue initiatives that enable us to create an enabling environment for business success.