RICHARD KING, HOST: He's becoming almost a regular on the program. Our Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres, who's back in our neck of the woods today and he's on the line. Good morning, Tim.

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: Richard. Really good to be on the show. G'day.

HOST: Yeah, nice to talk to you. So, what's the purpose for the visit today, Tim?

AYRES: Well, today's another day of work delivering on Future Made in Australia in the Hunter Valley. The clear focus that the Albanese Government has biggest pro manufacturing package in Australian history.

Today we're bringing all of the agency heads and the heads of the Special investment vehicles, the big banks that the Government has established to deliver investment like the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Export Finance Australia together with all of the Government agencies that are involved in Future Made in Australia. 

All these leaders together, sticking them on a bus going through the Hunter Valley, stopping in Muswellbrook at the Mount Arthur coal mine to look at the efforts there that are being led by the two governments, the Albanese Government and the Minns Government, together with BHP to secure portions of that facility for industrial investment.

I want to take those decision makers there together so we can make sure that in Canberra and in their engagements with the private sector, they understand the scale of the Hunter Valley opportunity. This is the beating heart of Australia's industrial engine here and I want to make sure that the focus of investment is here for future jobs and future opportunity for Hunter communities.

HOST: Okay, the future investment, but it's a lot of our money though that's being spent on this. There was an article in the Tele - taxpayers are being forced to pledge more than $8.1 billion since the beginning of last year to keep vital companies alive as Labor's energy policies plague businesses with crippling power prices. And I mean the implication is there they're blaming your government's well, energy policies for the fact that you're having to bail out Tomago. And I notice there's another one now over in WA, the BHP Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter. They're going to make a decision on that apparently as to whether or not they'll keep it going or close it indefinitely. A lot of people not happy about the fact that it's our money you're using to keep all these companies going, Tim.

AYRES: Well can I pick that a little bit Richard? Because there's a series of assertions in there that are just dead wrong. Firstly, we are in a race around the world for jobs and investment where some governments are, non-market practises, industrial subsidies where they are supporting their own production in their own strategic interest and the rules of trade have been thrown out the window by some large economies. And governments around the world that stand back and don't intervene will just have blue collar jobs and industrial investment flooding offshore.

So, we are taking a responsible approach in the Australian interest and you know, the Liberals, One Nation and the Nationals are always there to pour scorn on efforts to back the Australian interest. But in the end, this is a government with a pro manufacturing package that's there to deliver for industry.

Second assertion that is wrong there, that that newspaper appears to make and that Liberals and One Nation and the National Party politicians say all the time, is that the problem here is the Government's approach to rebuilding the electricity system. That is, not to put too fine a point on it, just crap. That is political partisan nonsense born out of kind of weird ideology that is just dead wrong. The problem in the electricity system is that there was a decade of no investment and we're relying upon old clapped-out coal fired power stations - where the operators are doing their best, doing their best to keep delivering these assets - but they're just not reliable and they're too expensive. 

And with Tomago Aluminium the answer is investment in low-cost electricity. And that's why that massive investment, $2.5 billion from the Albanese Government and the Minns Government and all of the associated investment is directed towards rebuilding the electricity system. So, we are absolutely focused on actually getting on with the job, pushing aside the nonsense and actually focusing on the practical competitive issues for Australians.

And that's why too the other big energy challenge is in gas. And we're reserving Australian gas for Australian industry and Australian households to drive down costs and make our industries more competitive.

That's the Albanese Government's approach. It's practical. It's not words and slogans, it's just practical.

HOST: All right, but you've set the precedent now with all these bailouts and just with reference to this BHP Nickel Smelter in Western Australia, Rick Wilson, who's a Liberal WA MP, he said the Federal Government should be providing financial support just like it has for four other metal smelters elsewhere. And then we get the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor Glenn Wilson saying look, these bailouts are just sugar hits to businesses without long term planning to support affected communities. And I mean the argument is say for instance with Tomago at the end of the 10 years and the end of, you know, the Government spending $2.5 billion of our money, what if the situation's exactly the same at the end of 10 years? Do we bail them out again and give them more money to keep them going or how's that going to work, Tim?

AYRES: Well, for Tomago Aluminium this provides really two powerful things. Firstly, there is investment certainty here and confidence from workers, the 1,100 or so who work in the facility, the 5,000 additional whose jobs rely entirely upon that facility, the investors in that capability have certainty as far as the eye can see through to 2039.

But secondly what it does is it builds the electricity generation and brings it forward and lowers the cost of electricity for that facility but also for households and businesses all across NSW, making the Hunter and NSW more competitive on the energy and electricity issues. That's what this is about.

It's just like when the Labor Government in 1980, led by Neville Rand, invested in those coal fired power stations in order to provide energy certainty for that facility. This is the Albanese Government and the Minns Government stepping up and doing the same thing in a modern context where electricity, if we're gonna be fair dinkum about it, like it doesn't happen by magic, you know, it's not witchcraft - you actually gotta build new electricity generation and transmission to deliver the lowest electricity to that facility. That is what is being done here. And it sets it up for a competitive future.

And there's too much partisanship and too much talking Australia down around these questions by Liberals and Nationals and One Nation politicians who seek to profit from the uncertainty. We're not, we're not doing that.

We are just backing blue collar jobs, backing industry and leaning in communities like the Hunter.

And you know, I mean, these people should try and go up to Tomago and make those arguments and look people in the eyes and just crap on like these people do. Well, we are delivering for Australia and delivering for the Hunter.

It's hard work, it's uncertain work. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort and really in a fair dinkum way, working with businesses, not being keyboard warriors. And we'll keep doing that.

HOST: All right. Always good to talk to you. Thanks for your time. Enjoy, well, you're taking your whole bus load up to Mount Arthur and then you'll be at the Newcastle University and you'll be hoping Latrell Mitchell turns out for your Rabbitoh’s against the Warriors this weekend Tim?

AYRES: Yeah, well, we've had a pretty good couple of weeks in rugby league and you know, I wish Latrell all the best. It's been a tough season for him, but that team's sticking together like glue and we're just going to keep plugging away.

HOST: All right, Good to talk to you. Thanks for your time. Have a good weekend, Tim.

AYRES: Good on you, mate. Catch you later.

HOST: Tim Ayres, our Federal Industry Minister on 2HD.