The Big Steal: Top journo’s warning ahead of Whyalla Steelworks sale
One of Australia’s most celebrated journalists gives governments a shellacking over the steelworks in his new book, giving InDaily his take on current negotiations.
With the Premier last week confirming he “would not rule out” the process for selling the Whyalla Steelworks taking longer than its September 30 deadline, a leading Australian journalist and author said he hoped his optimism in a possible delay was the right read of negotiations.
Speaking to InDaily, journalist and author Paul Barry – who famously hosted Media Watch on the ABC for more than a decade and has now released a book about Whyalla Steelworks – said: “The difficulties of negotiating the deal suggest that the government is doing its job properly”.
It’s a far cry from the shellacking Barry delivered to both the state government and the Australian financial press in his new book The Big Steal, which chronicles the rise of British steel mogul and former Whyalla Steelworks owner Sanjeev Gupta.
The book – released last week – details a complex web of corporate structures, the mogul’s relationship with the now-defunct financier Greensill, and Gupta’s multimillion-dollar luxury purchases.
The tale reaches a climax in South Australia, where in the final chapters, the state government closes in on Gupta through a carefully coordinated dance in which it wrested control of the Whyalla Steelworks though an extraordinary change to legislation.
You might like
This passed control of the steelworks to administrators KordaMentha who were given the task of finding a new owner for the plant that had been neglected for years under Gupta’s ownership, Barry writing how the former owner chose to siphon money out of the valuable magnetite mines rather than deliver on his many promises to spend billions of dollars in upgrading the plant.
Barry spoke to InDaily just days after SA Premier Peter Malinauskas confirmed in Parliament last week that while he had the “aspiration” to complete the sale of the steelworks by the end of September, saying “we will not pursue a timeline, or a deadline, at the expense of getting the right outcome”.
“Certainly our commitment has been to conclude the process by the end of the year. I am confident in our ability to do that,” Malinauskas said.
“There is a possibility we land that outcome between now and then but I would not rule out the government choosing, in conjunction with the Commonwealth, to take a little bit more time to get this right.”
Stay informed, daily
There are two final companies bidding to purchase the Steelworks: Jindal Steel International – an Indian company that specialises in steelmaking – and M Resources – a metallurgical coal trading company owned by Brisbane billionaire Matt Latimore.
The Premier said in Parliament that the two “competitive bids” had “distinctions; they have differences, and we are very carefully assessing the various strengths and weaknesses between the two proposals”.
“We have to get this right,” he said, noting that there was capacity in both the Federal and state budgets to fund the administration of the Steelworks beyond September 30.
“I want to make sure that, five years from now, when we look back on the decision that has to be made about which owner we go for, it’s the right one.”
Barry said that he was an optimist and hoped his read on the situation was correct, but added that “it could just be that the buyers are taking them to the cleaners”.
“I think it would be extraordinary if it happened again and the government did not lay down very tough conditions for the expenditure of government money, and so the buyers would have to commit to a schedule of a particular bunch of improvements and changes to Whyalla that will give it a long-term future,” Barry said.
“I would be amazed if the government doesn’t get that out of the buyers and that the buyers don’t commit to that. There’s $2 billion worth of government money being promised here, so you would think they would have to get it right.
“But I think it will happen, but it will be expensive, and there’s legitimate debate about whether you should be spending that money or not.”
He ultimately hoped the government would ensure what happened under Gupta’s ownership would not happen again.
“I read [the book] the other day for the audiobook and even as I read it I’m thinking, ‘I don’t believe this’,” he said.
“I really can’t believe he got away with this stuff. It continues to surprise me every time I read it.”
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
