Latest news with #Malinauskas
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Steelworks sale on track despite hit on state budget
The sale of an embattled steelworks is progressing better than the state government had hoped, despite the toll on the budget of propping up the business. In the wake of the South Australian budget being handed down and the state being forced to absorb costs in keeping the Whyalla steelworks alive, Premier Peter Malinauskas is positive about the sale of the company. "We're actively engaged already with potential buyers for the steelworks," he told ABC Radio National on Friday. "In fact, that's going a little bit better than we had even hoped." In February, the state government took dramatic action in Whyalla, rushing through legislation so it could place the city's steelworks into the hands of administrators KordaMentha because of the mounting debts of OneSteel's owners, GFG Alliance. Since then, the SA government had ruled out taking an equity stake in the troubled steelworks but Mr Malinauskas said the federal government has not done the same. The federal government is "open-minded" to an equity stake and the state government will work in conjunction with them, Mr Malinauskas said. Supporting the administration of the Whyalla steelworks has taken a big hit on the state budget handed down on Thursday, with next year's surplus revised down from $449 million to $179 million. Mr Malinauskas said that it is partly the result of the state having to fund the administration 50-50 with the federal government until a buyer is found. "We're committed to sovereign steelmaking in this country and willing to bear the brunt of that hit," he said. The budget allocated $650 million towards the $2.4 billion Whyalla "sovereign steel" package announced jointly with the federal government in February. Treasurer Stephen Mullighan's state budget offered few sweeteners to residents, instead headlining with a $395 million "law and order" package to fund hundreds of extra police officers. The law and order package includes $172 million across six years to recruit 326 officers, lifting numbers to 5000 by 2030/31. More police security officers, civilianisation of administrative roles, and recruiting will deliver 630 extra police officers in frontline roles by 2031. The centrepiece was not welcomed by the opposition who said the government, which is facing an election in March, is "out of money and out of ideas". The budget also featured $73 million in already announced drought relief to relieve the escalating impact of near-record low rainfall across most of SA's farming regions in recent years. Mr Malinauskas has not ruled out further drought assistance if the conditions continue despite the pressure on the budget. "We're going to wait and see how the conditions unfold," he said. "There's a bit of (rain) forecast this weekend, we hope it buckets down, but if it doesn't, the government will continue to engage with our farming community." The sale of an embattled steelworks is progressing better than the state government had hoped, despite the toll on the budget of propping up the business. In the wake of the South Australian budget being handed down and the state being forced to absorb costs in keeping the Whyalla steelworks alive, Premier Peter Malinauskas is positive about the sale of the company. "We're actively engaged already with potential buyers for the steelworks," he told ABC Radio National on Friday. "In fact, that's going a little bit better than we had even hoped." In February, the state government took dramatic action in Whyalla, rushing through legislation so it could place the city's steelworks into the hands of administrators KordaMentha because of the mounting debts of OneSteel's owners, GFG Alliance. Since then, the SA government had ruled out taking an equity stake in the troubled steelworks but Mr Malinauskas said the federal government has not done the same. The federal government is "open-minded" to an equity stake and the state government will work in conjunction with them, Mr Malinauskas said. Supporting the administration of the Whyalla steelworks has taken a big hit on the state budget handed down on Thursday, with next year's surplus revised down from $449 million to $179 million. Mr Malinauskas said that it is partly the result of the state having to fund the administration 50-50 with the federal government until a buyer is found. "We're committed to sovereign steelmaking in this country and willing to bear the brunt of that hit," he said. The budget allocated $650 million towards the $2.4 billion Whyalla "sovereign steel" package announced jointly with the federal government in February. Treasurer Stephen Mullighan's state budget offered few sweeteners to residents, instead headlining with a $395 million "law and order" package to fund hundreds of extra police officers. The law and order package includes $172 million across six years to recruit 326 officers, lifting numbers to 5000 by 2030/31. More police security officers, civilianisation of administrative roles, and recruiting will deliver 630 extra police officers in frontline roles by 2031. The centrepiece was not welcomed by the opposition who said the government, which is facing an election in March, is "out of money and out of ideas". The budget also featured $73 million in already announced drought relief to relieve the escalating impact of near-record low rainfall across most of SA's farming regions in recent years. Mr Malinauskas has not ruled out further drought assistance if the conditions continue despite the pressure on the budget. "We're going to wait and see how the conditions unfold," he said. "There's a bit of (rain) forecast this weekend, we hope it buckets down, but if it doesn't, the government will continue to engage with our farming community." The sale of an embattled steelworks is progressing better than the state government had hoped, despite the toll on the budget of propping up the business. In the wake of the South Australian budget being handed down and the state being forced to absorb costs in keeping the Whyalla steelworks alive, Premier Peter Malinauskas is positive about the sale of the company. "We're actively engaged already with potential buyers for the steelworks," he told ABC Radio National on Friday. "In fact, that's going a little bit better than we had even hoped." In February, the state government took dramatic action in Whyalla, rushing through legislation so it could place the city's steelworks into the hands of administrators KordaMentha because of the mounting debts of OneSteel's owners, GFG Alliance. Since then, the SA government had ruled out taking an equity stake in the troubled steelworks but Mr Malinauskas said the federal government has not done the same. The federal government is "open-minded" to an equity stake and the state government will work in conjunction with them, Mr Malinauskas said. Supporting the administration of the Whyalla steelworks has taken a big hit on the state budget handed down on Thursday, with next year's surplus revised down from $449 million to $179 million. Mr Malinauskas said that it is partly the result of the state having to fund the administration 50-50 with the federal government until a buyer is found. "We're committed to sovereign steelmaking in this country and willing to bear the brunt of that hit," he said. The budget allocated $650 million towards the $2.4 billion Whyalla "sovereign steel" package announced jointly with the federal government in February. Treasurer Stephen Mullighan's state budget offered few sweeteners to residents, instead headlining with a $395 million "law and order" package to fund hundreds of extra police officers. The law and order package includes $172 million across six years to recruit 326 officers, lifting numbers to 5000 by 2030/31. More police security officers, civilianisation of administrative roles, and recruiting will deliver 630 extra police officers in frontline roles by 2031. The centrepiece was not welcomed by the opposition who said the government, which is facing an election in March, is "out of money and out of ideas". The budget also featured $73 million in already announced drought relief to relieve the escalating impact of near-record low rainfall across most of SA's farming regions in recent years. Mr Malinauskas has not ruled out further drought assistance if the conditions continue despite the pressure on the budget. "We're going to wait and see how the conditions unfold," he said. "There's a bit of (rain) forecast this weekend, we hope it buckets down, but if it doesn't, the government will continue to engage with our farming community." The sale of an embattled steelworks is progressing better than the state government had hoped, despite the toll on the budget of propping up the business. In the wake of the South Australian budget being handed down and the state being forced to absorb costs in keeping the Whyalla steelworks alive, Premier Peter Malinauskas is positive about the sale of the company. "We're actively engaged already with potential buyers for the steelworks," he told ABC Radio National on Friday. "In fact, that's going a little bit better than we had even hoped." In February, the state government took dramatic action in Whyalla, rushing through legislation so it could place the city's steelworks into the hands of administrators KordaMentha because of the mounting debts of OneSteel's owners, GFG Alliance. Since then, the SA government had ruled out taking an equity stake in the troubled steelworks but Mr Malinauskas said the federal government has not done the same. The federal government is "open-minded" to an equity stake and the state government will work in conjunction with them, Mr Malinauskas said. Supporting the administration of the Whyalla steelworks has taken a big hit on the state budget handed down on Thursday, with next year's surplus revised down from $449 million to $179 million. Mr Malinauskas said that it is partly the result of the state having to fund the administration 50-50 with the federal government until a buyer is found. "We're committed to sovereign steelmaking in this country and willing to bear the brunt of that hit," he said. The budget allocated $650 million towards the $2.4 billion Whyalla "sovereign steel" package announced jointly with the federal government in February. Treasurer Stephen Mullighan's state budget offered few sweeteners to residents, instead headlining with a $395 million "law and order" package to fund hundreds of extra police officers. The law and order package includes $172 million across six years to recruit 326 officers, lifting numbers to 5000 by 2030/31. More police security officers, civilianisation of administrative roles, and recruiting will deliver 630 extra police officers in frontline roles by 2031. The centrepiece was not welcomed by the opposition who said the government, which is facing an election in March, is "out of money and out of ideas". The budget also featured $73 million in already announced drought relief to relieve the escalating impact of near-record low rainfall across most of SA's farming regions in recent years. Mr Malinauskas has not ruled out further drought assistance if the conditions continue despite the pressure on the budget. "We're going to wait and see how the conditions unfold," he said. "There's a bit of (rain) forecast this weekend, we hope it buckets down, but if it doesn't, the government will continue to engage with our farming community."
West Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Steelworks sale on track despite hit on state budget
The sale of an embattled steelworks is progressing better than the state government had hoped, despite the toll on the budget of propping up the business. In the wake of the South Australian budget being handed down and the state being forced to absorb costs in keeping the Whyalla steelworks alive, Premier Peter Malinauskas is positive about the sale of the company. "We're actively engaged already with potential buyers for the steelworks," he told ABC Radio National on Friday. "In fact, that's going a little bit better than we had even hoped." In February, the state government took dramatic action in Whyalla, rushing through legislation so it could place the city's steelworks into the hands of administrators KordaMentha because of the mounting debts of OneSteel's owners, GFG Alliance. Since then, the SA government had ruled out taking an equity stake in the troubled steelworks but Mr Malinauskas said the federal government has not done the same. The federal government is "open-minded" to an equity stake and the state government will work in conjunction with them, Mr Malinauskas said. Supporting the administration of the Whyalla steelworks has taken a big hit on the state budget handed down on Thursday, with next year's surplus revised down from $449 million to $179 million. Mr Malinauskas said that it is partly the result of the state having to fund the administration 50-50 with the federal government until a buyer is found. "We're committed to sovereign steelmaking in this country and willing to bear the brunt of that hit," he said. The budget allocated $650 million towards the $2.4 billion Whyalla "sovereign steel" package announced jointly with the federal government in February. Treasurer Stephen Mullighan's state budget offered few sweeteners to residents, instead headlining with a $395 million "law and order" package to fund hundreds of extra police officers. The law and order package includes $172 million across six years to recruit 326 officers, lifting numbers to 5000 by 2030/31. More police security officers, civilianisation of administrative roles, and recruiting will deliver 630 extra police officers in frontline roles by 2031. The centrepiece was not welcomed by the opposition who said the government, which is facing an election in March, is "out of money and out of ideas". The budget also featured $73 million in already announced drought relief to relieve the escalating impact of near-record low rainfall across most of SA's farming regions in recent years. Mr Malinauskas has not ruled out further drought assistance if the conditions continue despite the pressure on the budget. "We're going to wait and see how the conditions unfold," he said. "There's a bit of (rain) forecast this weekend, we hope it buckets down, but if it doesn't, the government will continue to engage with our farming community."
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Steelworks sale on track despite hit on state budget
The sale of an embattled steelworks is progressing better than the state government had hoped, despite the toll on the budget of propping up the business. In the wake of the South Australian budget being handed down and the state being forced to absorb costs in keeping the Whyalla steelworks alive, Premier Peter Malinauskas is positive about the sale of the company. "We're actively engaged already with potential buyers for the steelworks," he told ABC Radio National on Friday. "In fact, that's going a little bit better than we had even hoped." In February, the state government took dramatic action in Whyalla, rushing through legislation so it could place the city's steelworks into the hands of administrators KordaMentha because of the mounting debts of OneSteel's owners, GFG Alliance. Since then, the SA government had ruled out taking an equity stake in the troubled steelworks but Mr Malinauskas said the federal government has not done the same. The federal government is "open-minded" to an equity stake and the state government will work in conjunction with them, Mr Malinauskas said. Supporting the administration of the Whyalla steelworks has taken a big hit on the state budget handed down on Thursday, with next year's surplus revised down from $449 million to $179 million. Mr Malinauskas said that it is partly the result of the state having to fund the administration 50-50 with the federal government until a buyer is found. "We're committed to sovereign steelmaking in this country and willing to bear the brunt of that hit," he said. The budget allocated $650 million towards the $2.4 billion Whyalla "sovereign steel" package announced jointly with the federal government in February. Treasurer Stephen Mullighan's state budget offered few sweeteners to residents, instead headlining with a $395 million "law and order" package to fund hundreds of extra police officers. The law and order package includes $172 million across six years to recruit 326 officers, lifting numbers to 5000 by 2030/31. More police security officers, civilianisation of administrative roles, and recruiting will deliver 630 extra police officers in frontline roles by 2031. The centrepiece was not welcomed by the opposition who said the government, which is facing an election in March, is "out of money and out of ideas". The budget also featured $73 million in already announced drought relief to relieve the escalating impact of near-record low rainfall across most of SA's farming regions in recent years. Mr Malinauskas has not ruled out further drought assistance if the conditions continue despite the pressure on the budget. "We're going to wait and see how the conditions unfold," he said. "There's a bit of (rain) forecast this weekend, we hope it buckets down, but if it doesn't, the government will continue to engage with our farming community."
Sky News AU
16-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Qantas announces first international flights out of Adelaide in more than a decade with new service to Auckland
Qantas has announced it is launching international flights out of Adelaide for the first time in more than a decade, but only on a seasonal basis. The flying kangaroo has not flown an overseas route out of the South Australian capital since 2013 when it axed flights to Singapore. But that will change on October 31 when Qantas services between Adelaide and Auckland commence. The Boeing 737 flights will operate four times per week until May 3 next year, with Qantas competing against Air New Zealand, which already operates the route. Qantas said that in addition to connecting South Australia and New Zealand, it will provide a one-stop service to New York through its Auckland-New York service. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas appeared hopeful that Qantas would continue to grow its international network out of Adelaide after such a long hiatus. "It is great news that Qantas is re-establishing a direct international flight out of Adelaide with this new service to Auckland," Mr Malinauskas said. "There is no better friend to Australia than New Zealand – and this connection is only set to bring us even closer. "It also connects South Australians through to New York City with a single stop, strengthening our bond with a key economic and AUKUS partner. "We hope that this marks the beginning of a long-term commitment by Qantas to grow their international services out of Adelaide." Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison noted that "New Zealand is presently the equal second biggest source market for visitation to South Australia - behind only the UK and equal with China". 'Tourism expenditure from New Zealand grew by 29 per cent in the last year, with 48,000 visitors coming to South Australia in 2024," she said. "We invite our friends across the ditch to come and experience the simple pleasures of South Australia – to taste our premium food and wine, experience our natural beauty, and enjoy a plethora of events and festivals across the calendar." The announcement comes less than two weeks after Qantas confirmed it was launching seasonal flights between Perth and Auckland from December 8. The Airbus A330-200 flights will operate three times per week. Earlier this year, Mr Malinauskas revealed United Airlines will commence seasonal flights between San Francisco and Adelaide on December 11. Airlines which currently operate international flights out of Adelaide include Fiji Airways, Emirates, China Southern, Jetstar, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand.
Scoop
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Australian Politician Who Sparked Social Media Ban Says It's ‘Worth It' Even If Kids Find Way Around It
New Zealand will be a 'fast follower' because 'immense harm' is being done, the Education Minister says. The Australian Labor politician who sparked the country's social media ban has admitted young people will find a way around it, but argues that curbing addiction in young people is more important. South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas sparked the idea, initially proposing a state-wide age limit and commissioning a report from the Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French last year. Within days the idea was picked up by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government and later passed as a nationwide law. It's expected to come into force in November. The idea has now been raised in New Zealand. Last week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the issue would be formally investigated and Education Minister Erica Stanford would lead the work. National MP Catherine Wedd has also put forward a member's bill modelled on the Australian law, and ACT leader David Seymour is calling for a parliamentary inquiry on the issue. Australia's law puts the obligation on technology companies to take reasonable steps to prevent young people under 16 from creating social media accounts, and companies that fail to introduce adequate safeguards will face fines of up to A$49.5 million (NZ$53.6m). Platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) are included – but messaging and gaming sites, along with YouTube – are not. Malinauskas told Morning Report he was sure an 'intuitive young person' would find their way around the ban and some would lie to get around an age verification check. He argued people still smoked and drank alcohol underage, but did it less when there were laws against these actions. 'What we now know is that these social media platforms are industrialising addiction – coming up with algorithms that very deliberately are designed to have young people addicted to their platforms. 'Now wherever you see a product or a service, that relies upon instituting addiction, particularly for young people, that invites a government policy response – particularly when we know it's doing harm.' The law prompted a backlash. Last week on Morning Report retired judge and online law expert David Harvey said it was parents' responsibility to implement rules around social media use, asking: 'Do you want the government to solve every problem?' Malinauskas pushed back, saying that argument was used by those who had not parented a child where 'every single kid in the class had a mobile phone', and where core socialising was done through social media. 'What this is doing is giving the parents the tool to say 'no' to their kids, without them being isolated socially.' The Australian government has recruited a UK company, the Age Check Certification Scheme, to carry out trials of potential age verification technologies. About 30 social media companies are said to be involved in the trial, and a report was due back to the government at the end of last month but was not being made public, according to a Guardian report. Asked if he had heard how that technology was working, Malinauskas said: 'Look, there are complexities, but we believe by November this year the Commonwealth will very much have a means to be able to do this.' Malinauskas admitted there would be challenges, but maintained the ban 'would be worth it'. Along with messaging and gaming sites, YouTube was also exempt. YouTube is the most popular social media platform in Australia according to Australia's independent regulator for online safety, eSafety, with 73 percent of children aged 13 to 15 reported to have used the platform. Documents published by Australian media reveal strong lobbying from YouTube attempting to avoid the ban, but YouTube and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told RNZ it was given an exemption on the grounds of health and education from the get-go. Malinauskas said social media was being defined as an online tool that has a communicative effect, as distinct from one that generates one-way traffic. 'YouTube is a different product in its nature to Facebook and Instagram, there are things that distinguish it, but ultimately ministers will make judgements about what are exempt services on the basis of advice they receive from a range of services, including the eSafety Commission.' 'Parents feel powerless' Education Minister Erica Stanford told Morning Report New Zealand would be a 'fast follower' behind Australia, 'a good position to be in because we can go and cherry-pick what is working around the world [and] take a much more nuanced and pragmatic approach perhaps than the Australians'. 'We have heard from parents, teachers and principals… how important this is and how much feeling there was out there. And, you know, parents know the harm, they see it, and they want us to do something about it. And I've always wanted to lead work like this.' She said any proposed restrictions would 'go through the normal process', and not be fast-tracked into law, like last week's controversial Pay Equity Amendment Bill. 'Well, the very first step for me is to probably set up a policy advisory group. I've already started to have conversations with some world-leading experts on legislative change and what works and has worked in other countries.' She said Luxon wanted it in law before the next election. Luxon confirmed later in the show it would follow the usual process into law. 'What we're wanting to do is, you know, synthesise what's happening all around the world. As you know, Australia, US states, UK, EU, Canada are all doing work in this space, and then quickly pull that together and take a bill into the Cabinet and then obviously out through consultation and into law.' The idea was met with some scepticism from ACT, Seymour suggesting a 'quality public inquiry' would be needed, with parents, educational psychologists and social media companies part of the process. 'The issue that ACT have got is not a philosophical one,' Stanford said. 'They know the harm, I know David knows the harm… My job is to go and find out what does work and get him on board.' She agreed with host Corin Dann it was 'a little unusual' for a centre-right party to be 'advocating for the state to intervene' instead of leaving it to parents. 'You're right. However, the harm is immense. There's so much evidence out there showing the harm, and parents know it, and they are powerless. I'm powerless. I've had my own kids go through this, and even I couldn't do anything about it, because every other kid's got the device and every other kid's chatting with each other, and you can't – you feel that, you can't exclude your kid because then they won't be able to make friends and be included. 'And parents feel powerless. They need someone… they want someone to come in and help create those guardrails. And yeah, it's going to be difficult and it's not going to be easy, but we need to create a societal shift that says, 'Hey, this is the harm, we all know it, and here are the guardrails.'' Stanford said the cellphone ban in schools was met with scepticism when first announced, 'but it's turned out that it's one of the best things we ever did in education. And there's almost no dissenting voices now.' 'Kids talking and playing with each other' Malinauskas was the first politician to propose a social media ban, saying the idea started with a call from his wife who had read a book by American psychologist Jonathan Haidt called The Anxious Generation, which posits that the overuse of social media had sparked an epidemic of anxiety and depression among Generation Z. He also said South Australia was the first state in the country to implement a ban on cellphones in schools, which he said generated passionate feedback – including one principal initially against the idea who changed her mind, and said she heard a sound that she had not heard in 10 years: 'Kids talking and playing with each other'. 'What harm is done to them by not having access to social media? I mean what's the worst possible thing that happens here? 'If kids get off social media, if 14-year-olds are off social media, what's the worst outcome here? They start conversing with one another and engaging with one another in a way that was happening only 10 years ago.' A Meta spokesperson said: 'Meta is committed to youth safety and has built many tools and features to help teens have safe, positive experiences and give parents simple ways to set boundaries, including the introduction of Instagram Teen Accounts in New Zealand earlier this year. 'We look forward to engaging with all stakeholders in New Zealand to discuss the best solutions for young people moving forward. 'One simple option we believe has merit is age verification at the operating system and app store level, like the law passed in Utah earlier this year. This approach reduces the burden on parents and teens and minimises the amount of sensitive information shared.'
