PM Assures Whyalla Amid Steelmaking Doubts, Nyrstar Operations Also Addressed

The prime minister has offered public assurances about Whyalla amid fresh doubts over steelmaking triggered by the state of the local blast furnace.

Speaking in Adelaide, Anthony Albanese said the federal government was also "continuing to work" with lead producer Nyrstar to secure its operations in Port Pirie and Hobart.

The Whyalla blast furnace, which is critical to steel production in the South Australian regional city, has been offline since early last month and remains in a "very vulnerable situation", the SA premier said today.

A multi-billion-dollar state and federal bailout was announced last year, and budget papers handed down last Tuesday show the federal government committed a total of $409 million in 2025/26 and 2026/27 to support the steelworks through administration.

Mr Albanese — who visited Whyalla to announce the 2025 support package, and returned to the city on the eve of this year's March state election — was today asked whether he was concerned about the possibility of Whyalla becoming an "empty bathtub" in constant need of financial refilling.

In reply, he backed local steelmaking, saying it was important not just for Whyalla but for the nation.

"We want a future made in Australia, we want more things to be made here. That's how our economy becomes more resilient.

"The theme of the budget was resilience — resilience in making more things here, being less vulnerable to these international events."

Whyalla's blast furnace — which administrators KordaMentha had hoped to get going by the middle of this month — faced similar shutdowns in the years before the state government wrested control of the site from previous owner GFG Alliance.

Premier Peter Malinauskas acknowledged the seriousness of the current state of affairs, but was also optimistic about a solution.

"The blast furnace continues to be in a very vulnerable situation," he said.

The premier said efforts to secure a new commercial owner for the site continue "to track really well".

Whyalla's troubles coincide with uncertainty in Port Pirie, which forms another corner of South Australia's so-called "iron triangle" of regional industrial cities.

A $135 million assistance package for the Nyrstar lead smelter there — as well as the company's operations in Hobart — ran out at the end of last month, prompting concerns about the future of more than 1,000 jobs.

Mr Albanese said the federal government was "continuing to work with Nyrstar both in Port Pirie and in Tasmania", and with the South Australian and Tasmanian governments.

"We support jobs and we're working with state governments constructively, as well as with the private sector on those issues."