[Greens-Media] Greens federal and state MPs join with unions and steel industry campaigners in call for national steel procurement

[Jegatheeswaran, Brami (Jegan) (Sen L. Rhiannon)]

MEDIA ALERT
20 June 2016

Greens federal and state MPs join with unions and steel industry campaigners in call for national steel procurement

With the vote expected in the Upper House this week on the NSW Steel Procurement Bill, it is time all parliaments, State and Federal around the country enacted steel procurement policies. It is not enough to see one-off site specific rescue packages.

The surest, simplest and most responsible action for every government in the country to take to protect Australian steel and the thousands of manufacturing jobs that depend on it, is to make sure that wherever practical our tax dollars are spent on Australian steel made by Australian workers.

What: State and Federal Greens MPs, together with industry campaigners and union representatives, are uniting to call for nation-wide steel procurement policies.
When: 10:30am TODAY 20 June
Where: South Coast Labor Council 1 Lowden Square, Wollongong

Who: Federal Senator Lee Rhiannon, Ian Waters project engineer KNR Fabrications and steel industry campaigner, Greens NSW MP David Shoebridge, SCLC Secretary Arthur Rorris and Union representatives

Senator Lee Rhiannon said:
"Steel procurement is an idea whose time has come and that is why the Greens are supporting it in the NSW, South Australian and Federal Parliaments.

"It is great to see the Greens' Steel Procurement Bill gaining such strong traction in NSW with the support of every political party in the NSW Parliament except, unfortunately, the Coalition.

"We are now very much seeing the NSW Bill as the model, not just for a Greens procurement Bill, but for community led procurement laws that make a real difference to the industry," Senator Rhiannon said.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said:
"This is crunch time in the NSW Parliament and we are certain that the Coalition government will be trying every trick in the book to avoid the Steel Industry Protection Bill from coming on for a vote.

 "At both State and Federal levels the Coalition are floundering for a coherent response to the steel crisis, and they know that opposing this simple and straightforward policy is deeply embarrassing for them", Greens MP David Shoebridge said.

Media Contact: David Shoebridge 0408 113 952


Brami Jegan
Communications | Strategy
for Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon

72 Campbell Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
p: (02) 9211 9523 | m: 0433 054 712

http://lee-rhiannon.greensmps.org.au/

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