Steel Industry

The majority voted in favour NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon (Greens) and also on behalf of Senators Madigan, Carr and Xenophon. This means it passed. Motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own but are politically influential because they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) urgent action is needed to ensure that Australia does not lose its steelmaking capacity, in the wake of the global steel industry crisis, and

(ii) steel-producing nations are responding to the oversupply and dumping of sub cost steel with a range of strategies that include increasing public procurement, restructuring and emergency safeguards in the form of temporary targeted tariffs; and

(b) calls on the Abbott Government to:

(i) immediately refer matters related to dumped sub-cost steel into Australia to the Anti-Dumping Commission for a preliminary report within three weeks to include an assessment of the possible harm to local industry, and options for action including duties and World Trade Organization emergency safeguards,

(ii) ensure that the Anti-Dumping Commission is suitably resourced to pursue ongoing improvements to Australia's anti-dumping system and reduce harm to local industry resulting from dumped imports,

(iii) work with the steel industry, unions, businesses and communities to minimise the impact on local jobs and living standards, particularly at the Port Kembla site in the Illawarra, from the world-wide over-supply of steel by developing:

(A) a constructive Steel Industry Plan, including comprehensive policies for improvements in Australian Industry Participation, and

(B) public procurement frameworks that include whole of life cost methods for assessing and determining procurement contracts,

(iv) prioritise structural adjustment and jobactive assistance to the Illawarra to minimise the impact on local jobs and living standards,

(v) reinstate the Local Employment Coordinator to assist steelworkers losing their jobs to retrain and gain alternative employment, and

(vi) continue the work of the International Trade Remedies Forum to address the need for ongoing improvements to Australia's anti dumping system, and any outstanding matters from the previous Government's suite of reforms to streamline Australia's anti-dumping system.