AJ SadauskasApr 21
The workers at Australia's only manganese smelter, Liberty Bell Bay in Tasmania, could be laid off as soon as *this Friday* unless a buyer steps up.

They've been told to take leave without pay or lose their jobs.

The federal and state government need to take action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMhC-hPxLfg

Here's some background about what happened. It involves a private equity firm and Sanjeev Gupta, who also sank the Whyalla steel mill: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-23/liberty-bell-bay-liquidation/106485590

Show your solidarity by signing the petition here: https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/save-liberty-bell-bay

#auspol #workers #unions #solidarity #business #capitalism #politics #news #taspol #Tasmania #australia
Administrators for Australia's only manganese smelter optimistic buyer will be found | ABC NEWS

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Show threadStephen GentleApr 22

@aj I don’t understand how in Australia we don’t have a public national investment bank that can step in, restructure these kind of businesses to save jobs, retain a significant equity stake (but sell on some of it) so the profits can then be invested back into other things (including housing, investing in innovative Australian businesses etc.).

Germany has one (the KfW) and it seems to work really well.

Show threadStephen GentleApr 22
@aj Such an organisation could also be used to manage equity holdings for emergency finance, like instead of just giving companies like Qantas over $2bn for free early in the COVID pandemic, such a state-owned entity could have taken an equity stake in return for that money.
Show threadAJ SadauskasApr 23
@stephengentle The good news is that the Federal and Tasmanian State Governments have given the workers a stay of execution.

They're covering three weeks' pay: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-23/analysis-liberty-bell-bay-wages-rescue-package/106586958

It's better than being sacked, stood down, or placed on indefinite leave as of tomorrow (Friday).

But they'll be back in the same position in three weeks unless a buyer comes forward.

Now.

If you support the idea of Australia having a viable manufacturing sector, then keeping the country's only manganese smelter open could be seen as nationally important.

In which case, it should probably be nationalised.

But that's another story.

#auspol #business #socialism #taspol #capitalism #politics
Rescue package 'better than nothing', but uncertainty remains for smelter workers

Three weeks of wages have been guaranteed for Liberty Bell Bay smelter workers, but with no buyer locked in, questions remain about what happens next.

Show threadHugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷
@aj Is there another source of manganese in Australia?
Apr 23 at 9:39amWeb
Show threadAJ SadauskasApr 23
@Tooden It's the only ferromanganese smelter in Australia. You basically need it to make stainless steel, and other steel alloys.

So if this plant closes, we'll basically be left shipping our manganese off to China, and then importing it back as stainless steel, instead of doing that value adding locally.

The plant itself is between Launceston and Bass Strait. It directly underpins the economy of George Town and Beaconsfield. And it indirectly supports a lot of other businesses across Northern Tasmania.

So if it closes, there's around 250 jobs immediately gone. All the contractor businesses and trades across Northern Tasmania that keep the plant going are gone.

Most of those skilled manual workers realistically need to move, potentially to the mainland, for work.

That puts all the local businesses that depend on them (think pubs, cafés, take away shops, speciality shops) under pressure.

And if they go, then national businesses (think Bank branches, supermarkets) and government services (eg schools) start moving out or closing.

Then in 15 years, we wonder why northern Tasmania is a rust belt and why we can't economically make any products with stainless steel locally anymore.