LEON COMPTON, HOST: Senator Tim Ayres, good morning to you.

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

HOST: Always good to talk to you, Tim Ayres. Have you done a deal with Rio?

AYRES: Well, we're working very hard. The Albanese Government and the Rockliff Government to secure the future of this facility. I've used this opportunity to be here in North East Tasmania to meet with the Premier and his team. Yesterday we had discussions, the Premier and I and our teams and the leadership of Rio Tinto, over the future of this facility. 

Now we're working very hard to secure a deal that is in the interest of Tasmania and the interests of Australia. This is a really important capability and of course, 500 jobs in North East Tasmania rely upon this facility. We are working very hard and I've been directly engaged with the Premier and his team in face-to-face meetings and face-to-face meetings with the leadership of Rio Tinto too.

HOST: What is the sticking point, Senator, in getting a deal done? 

AYRES: Well, these are complex and large arrangements that matter. It's really important to get the details of this right. I won't canvass the internal details of where the negotiations are up to because my principal interest here is in securing industrial capacity, securing those jobs. When an announcement's ready to be made, we'll make the announcement and be transparent about that. But we are getting closer and closer to securing this really important facility. And I'm really pleased with the cooperation that we've had from the Tasmanian Government and the Premier in particular, who's been personally engaged in this discussion.

HOST: That could happen or like the manganese smelter next door, it could get shut down and Rio could go away. Can you guarantee that that will not be an outcome going forward for those workers and their families?

AYRES: Well, we'll make announcements about arrangements when they are finalised. I can't tell you – I think I've said this on your show before – I can't tell you how bitterly disappointed I am, and the Government is in what's happened there at LBB. We threw everything at that. It is the consequence of an owner who let that facility down in a big way. 

North East Tasmania has paid the price. Those workers and their families have paid the price for that failure. And you know, this is when managements run facilities down, when they don't invest in them properly, when they don't take responsibility for their stewardship of these facilities. It has a real public consequence. It's absolutely, deeply disappointing. Each of these facilities rests on its own context and we're working with the context for Bell Bay Aluminium. We understand its importance. We're very focused. You know if there's an outcome here it'll be because there is a shared approach between the Albanese Government, the Tasmanian Government, and the owners of the facility –

HOST: Senator, I have this from one source, but I'll run it by you. Are you trying to extract from Rio Tinto a commitment to invest in that plant in greener ways of producing aluminium and that also see them more likely to stay here into the future beyond the length of the next 10-year deal?

AYRES: All I can say is that the discussions have a very broad scope. They go to everything that is required to deliver certainty over the coming years for that facility. They are detailed discussions that go to all sorts of issues that are the right public interest issues to be pursuing here. This facility generates a very large level of economic activity but it's also part of Australia's end-to-end aluminium supply chain. We mine bauxite, we process it into alumina and aluminium metal. We go all the way through to the supply chain of building products and advanced manufacturing products that is an asset for Australia, and we are focused here on what this Tasmanian facility can deliver and of course, the jobs.

HOST: 936. ABC Hobart, ABC Northern Tasmania. Senator Tim Ayres is our guest this morning. Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation is in town in Tassie and talking with Rio about a new deal. 

Can you confirm though that this is more than about just securing cheap power for Rio and that on the other side you are trying to extract from Rio a commitment to invest in that plant in ways that see it more likely to stick around into the future?

AYRES: Well, you're trying to extract from me details of the discussions and I just can't do that on your program and won't do that –

HOST: Okay, when do you want to have this signed off on? So, it's a 12-month extension. The old deal. The old 10-year deal already expired. It now would expire again in December. When do you want to have something signed off on?

AYRES: Well, this is too important to rush but it's obviously very urgent. So, we are working with that in mind. Determined to deliver an outcome and direct personal engagement matters in that process. That's why I'm here. That's why it was important to meet directly with the Premier and the leadership of Rio Tinto. The teams of officials, both governments working around the clock to secure this outcome. Engaging with the local team in Australia. But also with Rio Tinto's leadership, we are going to keep focused on that and we're going to keep doing the work. When we've got announcements to make, we'll make announcements. But I can't tell you much more today.

HOST: And Senator Tim Ayres we’d like to have you on the radio at exactly that time. So, thank you for jumping on this morning. We appreciate it. We'll catch up with you soon. 

ENDS.