Alcoa’s announcement that it is permanently closing its Kwinana alumina refinery is just the latest sign that Anthony Albanese’s Future Made in Australia is not off to a good start.

Some 220 people will lose their job as a result of the closure, following 800 who were made redundant in June last year. These are just the latest in a wave of job losses and plant closures in the minerals processing sector across Australia.

Rio Tinto has recently cast doubt over its ability to continue operating its Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania. The future of Rio’s majority owned Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW, and the more than 1000 jobs it provides, is also uncertain after it warned that electricity prices are too high to continue operating the plant.

Nyrstar recently received a $135 million ta

See Full Page