Millions of dollars promised to Whyalla community in sign of 'commitment' to struggling town

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Whyalla is getting a 40-million-dollar face lift with an upgraded airport and foreshore. The investment, coming from all levels of government, has been welcomed in the town which has been struggling with ongoing turmoil at its steelworks and mine.

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00:00A boost for Wyala, with a foreshore redevelopment and an airport investment among a suite of

00:08funding.

00:09We need our airport, the region needs it, the nation needs Wyala.

00:16The joint commitment by state, federal and local governments will pump over $40 million

00:21into the town.

00:22All levels of government working hand in glove to make sure we deliver an outcome for critical

00:28economic infrastructure to set us up for the long term.

00:32But the regional hub continues to face challenges.

00:35Its embattled steelworks this month resumed production, with its blast furnace at half

00:39capacity after it was shut down for four months.

00:43While the mining sites linked to steelworks owner GFG Alliance have also been hit with

00:48hundreds of job losses, and GFG is still behind on royalty payments to the state government.

00:55That's concerning the opposition, who wants more transparency from government.

00:59The government is having to spend money there, but they're not saying what's actually the

01:03situation on the ground, how far the royalty payments are in arrears, what the amount is,

01:10how this is impacting on contractors as well.

01:12Included in the funding is a $1.7 million package for redundant miners and steel workers.

01:18We all know that the elephant in the room here in Wyle is the future of the iron and

01:25steel industry, and that is something that this government, our state government and

01:30our federal government are incredibly, incredibly committed to.

01:35A town looking ahead, despite ongoing challenges.

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