The State and Federal Governments need to act to make Australia make again, writes former Senator Rex Patrick.

It’s been a week since Premier Malinauskas conceded he has grave concerns for the future of the Whyalla steelworks.

In that week there was a lot of talk on radio and television, newspaper headlines and a visit to Whyalla by the Premier.

But what’s happened in this past week does not bode well for the City of Whyalla or the state.

GFG is in deep trouble. That’s been obvious to everyone for many months. Sanjeev Gupta can’t pay his bills; not to his suppliers or to the South Australian government.

He’s embroiled in international financial difficulties and legal proceedings across the globe. He’s struggling to get a USD$150M loan just to get him through his most pressing problems; and he’s got a snowball’s chance in hell of raising the money that’s needed to upgrade the Whyalla steelworks into a 21st-century industrial facility.

The blast furnace at Whyalla is 60 years old.

If the status quo is maintained then next year the blast furnace will 61 years old, and the year after that it will be 62 years old.

If Gupta stays in charge and continues to fail to secure the long-promised investment that’s needed, the steelworks will be heading towards the scrap heap. That’s the ugly truth.

Back in October, Senator Jacqui Lambie and I called on the State Government to use GFG’s unpaid mining royalties as the........

© InDaily