State govt to intervene in Whyalla port dispute
The state government will once again change laws governing the Whyalla Steelworks in order to ensure administrators of the facility have unrestricted access to the city’s port.
Premier Peter Malinauskas made a Ministerial Statement in Parliament yesterday afternoon announcing his government would introduce legislative amendments to intervene in a dispute over control of the Whyalla port.
The amendment to the Whyalla Steelworks Act 1958 approves and ratifies an indenture between the state of South Australia and One Steel related to the operation of its steelworks.
The amendment – “drafted out of an abundance of caution” – clarifies that a purported lease agreement between One Steel to Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd does not have legal effect.
It comes amid a Federal Court dispute regarding the purported lease over the port, which administrators KordaMentha are attempting to make void.
KordaMentha was appointed administrator of OneSteel earlier this year after the state government passed special purpose legislation to tip the steelworks into administration.
In April, administrators said Federal Court intervention was required in order to avoid the collapse of the steelworks, which makes the only long steel products of their kind in Australia.
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Administrators asked the Federal Court to declare its attempts to re-possess the Whyalla port as valid and effective, arguing that OneSteel needs control of the Whyalla Port in order to provide “an interested party clear title to the assets and business of OneSteel including, mining operations, steelworks and port services”.
In his affidavit, administrator Michael Korda said Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd claims it has leased from OneSteel the land from which the port at Whyalla operates.
Administrators, however, dispute that and note that OneSteel is authorised to conduct mining, steel manufacturing and port operations under the terms of the Whyalla Steel Works Act 1958.
As such, on 27 March 2025, OneSteel served Whyalla Ports and its lawyers a document described as a ‘Notice of Termination and Re-Possession’.
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Whyalla Ports disputed this and via lawyers at Norton Rose Fulbright emailed the administrators’ lawyers claiming that the land was subject to a lease executed on 28 June 2018 between OneSteel and Whyalla Ports.
The Premier’s intervention seeks to give this dispute legislative clarity, but it remains to be seen what impact the amendment will have on the Federal Court case.
“The Administrators have advised the State of a purported lease agreement granted by OneSteel to Whyalla Ports Pty Ltd, a separate company owned by GFG. The lease was entered into without the prior consent of the State of South Australia,” the Premier said.
“The State has seen fit to clarify the status of the land which is subject to the purported lease, of which OneSteel is the registered proprietor for the purpose of operating the Port of Whyalla.
“The Indentures require consent of the State for the transfer of rights, obligations, powers, benefits and privileges conferred on OneSteel by the Indentures to another person or company.
“The Bill has been drafted out of an abundance of caution to clarify the effect of a failure to obtain prior consent and make it clear that the purported lease agreement granted by OneSteel to Whyalla Ports never had legal effect from the beginning.”
He said the Bill also clarified that the creation of an interest in the tramways, railways and other infrastructure constructed on the port facilities – other than by and for OneSteel – is void.
“This reflects the terms of the Indentures which vest in OneSteel the rights to construct and take the benefit of tramways and other infrastructure at the Port of Whyalla,” Malinauskas said.
“Nothing in the Bill prevents OneSteel or any prospective purchaser from entering into contractual arrangements in respect to the Port of Whyalla in the future, subject to the Indentures and relevant consent requirements.”
Malinauskas added that maintaining access to the Port was “essential” for the operations of the facility.
“Iron ore mined by OneSteel is exported via the Port and OneSteel receives key supply shipments from the Port including coking coal, dolomite and limestone – which are all required for steel production,” he said.
“The State remains committed to Whyalla and the domestic production of structural steel in our state.
“Without sovereign steel, we would rely on steel and capability from overseas amid an increasingly uncertain international climate and a national housing crisis. Sovereign steel is critical to our national interest and security.”
