澳大利亚总理阿尔巴尼斯和新南威尔士州州长明斯将联合宣布对澳大利亚最大铝冶炼厂Tomago的救助协议[1]。这笔救助总额为25亿澳元，分10年期实施，由联邦政府和NSW州政府各承担50%[1]。该方案旨在应对能源成本上升对该厂生存造成的威胁[1]。
救助方案包含多方投入。除政府资金外，Tomago的运营方Rio Tinto将自身承诺投入最多10亿澳元用于资本改善[1]。政府还将通过Snowy Hydro电力购买协议创建约2.5GW的新能源供应[1]。Tomago年产铝590,000吨，雇佣约1,000名员工，该厂占NSW州能源使用的10%以上[1]。
阿尔巴尼斯总理表示："如果澳大利亚不生产铝，其他行业会受到重大连锁影响，因为铝日益成为重要产品"[1]。除Tomago外，政府还向格伦科普特冶炼厂提供6亿澳元，向霍巴特和波特皮里冶炼厂各提供2.4亿澳元[1]。
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns are set to unveil a joint rescue package worth $2.5 billion for Tomago, Australia's largest aluminium smelter, to address mounting pressures from escalating energy costs [1]. The federal government and NSW state government will each fund 50 percent of the bailout, structured over a ten-year period [1]. Rio Tinto, the facility's operator, has committed to investing up to $1 billion in capital improvements as part of the agreement [1].
The support plan includes the creation of approximately 2.5 gigawatts of new energy supply through a power purchase agreement with Snowy Hydro [1]. Tomago currently produces 590,000 tonnes of aluminium annually and employs roughly 1,000 workers [1]. The facility accounts for more than 10 percent of NSW's energy consumption [1]. Albanese emphasized the strategic importance of domestic aluminium production, stating: "If Australia doesn't produce aluminium, there will be major flow-on effects across other industries, because aluminium is becoming an increasingly important product" [1].
Beyond Tomago, the government is providing additional support to other Australian smelters, allocating $600 million to Glencore's Portland facility, and $240 million each to the Hobart and Port Pirie smelters [1].