MEDIA STATEMENT
12 October 2026
The Albanese Labor Government’s latest $200 million support package for Bell Bay Aluminium is another example of Australians being forced to pay twice for Labor’s failed energy policies.
Let me be clear: Australia must maintain sovereign aluminium production. We need these jobs, we need Australian manufacturing and we should not become increasingly dependent on overseas supply.
But Australians are entitled to ask why an energy-rich nation is repeatedly having to use taxpayer money to keep energy-intensive industries viable.
Bell Bay is now receiving a $200 million government support package after months of uncertainty over its future and power costs, protecting 550 direct jobs and around 1,000 indirect jobs.
It joins a growing list of major Australian industrial facilities requiring government intervention just to keep operating.
This is becoming a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Australian households and businesses are already being smashed by higher energy costs. Now taxpayers are being asked to reach into their pockets again to help keep major industries afloat.
That is a double whammy.
And the timing could hardly be worse.
Just two days before this announcement, the Reserve Bank raised interest rates to 4.60 per cent and warned that domestic demand remained too strong, with Governor Michele Bullock confirming that both public and private demand are adding to aggregate demand.
Yet within days, another $200 million of government support is announced.
Supporting Australian jobs and sovereign manufacturing capability is important, but continually writing taxpayer-funded cheques is not a substitute for fixing the underlying problem.
Australia has some of the greatest energy resources in the world.
Our heavy industries should be thriving here, not lining up for government assistance because they cannot secure affordable and reliable power.
Labor needs to explain how many more billions of dollars Australians will have to spend propping up industry before it finally addresses the cost of energy.
A Coalition Government will take a different approach.
We will pursue cheaper, more reliable energy by scrapping Labor’s Net Zero mandate, lifting the ban on nuclear energy, removing the Safeguard Mechanism and backing all forms of affordable and reliable power, including coal, gas, nuclear, hydro, batteries and renewables.
The goal is simple: bring energy costs down, restore Australia’s industrial competitiveness and make sure manufacturers can stand on their own feet without taxpayers continually being asked to bail them out.
Australia should be one of the best places in the world to manufacture, invest and employ people. With abundant and affordable energy resources, Australian businesses will be able to get on with what they do best without the sword of Damocles hanging over their head.
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
