Bell Bay Aluminium agreement reached
1 October 2026: Very welcome news for Northern Tasmania. A new $200 million, five-year support agreement has been reached for Bell Bay Aluminium, jointly funded by the Tasmanian and Australian Governments, alongside a new five-year power agreement with Hydro Tasmania. The package is expected to support 550 direct jobs, around 1,000 indirect jobs and an estimated $5 billion in economic activity across Northern Tasmania.
This follows a frustrating period of great uncertainty. Before the 2025 election, the Federal Government specifically included Bell Bay when announcing its $2 billion “Green Aluminium Production Credit”, but after the election we were ruled ineligible under the scheme they ultimately designed.
The Tasmanian Government kept working to protect Bell Bay’s future, first securing a 12-month extension to its Hydro Tasmania power agreement and then helping achieve this longer-term agreement with the Commonwealth and Rio Tinto.
The disappointing consequence is that Tasmanian taxpayers are now contributing more, and the Commonwealth less, than would have been expected had the original federal undertaking to Bell Bay been delivered.
Most importantly, this agreement gives Bell Bay, its workers, their families and Northern Tasmania important certainty for the next five years.
The closure of Liberty Bell Bay and the ongoing future of Bell Bay Aluminium have become major economic issues for Northern Tasmania.
After the closure of Liberty Bell Bay on June 16 2026, I spent a week based in George Town meeting with former workers, local businesses and community members to hear firsthand about the impact on jobs, families and the wider community.
Since then, I have continued raising the impact of the closure and the broader challenges facing Bell Bay in Parliament and through the Bell Bay Response Team. I successfully moved a motion in Parliament calling on the Australian Government to honour its 2025 pre-election commitment to our community that Bell Bay Aluminium would have access to the Green Aluminium Production Credit, and to play its part in securing the smelter’s long-term future. That commitment to Bell Bay has since been withdrawn. I also support the careful work of the Tasmanian Government as it deals with these complex commercial issues, while continuing to advocate for practical measures to support affected workers, encourage new investment and create long-term opportunities for our region.
Bell Bay has been a cornerstone of Northern Tasmania’s economy for generations. With Liberty Bell Bay now closed, it is more important than ever that we back local workers, attract new industry and build confidence in the region’s future. I will continue working to ensure Northern Tasmania’s interests are represented and that every opportunity to secure jobs and investment at Bell Bay is pursued.
Standing Up for Liberty Bell Bay
Liberty Bell Bay (TEMCO) was Australia’s only manganese smelter, giving it an important role in both the Tasmanian and national economy. With the site now closed, many people in northern Tasmania remain concerned about what comes next for the site and the workers, families and businesses that relied on it. As Australia’s only manganese smelter, its closure has had effects well beyond the gates of the plant.
Despite the closure, the site still has significant industrial assets. Its location within the Bell Bay precinct, existing infrastructure and experienced workforce mean it could support new investment and future economic activity. I believe the site has an important role to play in strengthening northern Tasmania’s industrial base and creating new opportunities for local jobs.
Throughout the uncertainty surrounding Liberty Bell Bay, including administration and the prospect of a sale, I consistently called for transparency, decisive action and meaningful support for workers and the local community.
I strongly supported the establishment of the Bell Bay Response Team, which brought together representatives from all levels of government, along with industry and business leaders, to coordinate support for the region and help build confidence in Bell Bay’s future. As the Member for Bass, I have served on the Response Team and worked closely with those involved to advocate for local workers, businesses and the wider community.
I will continue to push for the best possible outcome for workers, families, local businesses and the site’s long-term future. The people of Bell Bay deserve certainty, honest communication and a genuine commitment to creating new opportunities for the region.
Securing Bell Bay Aluminium
Bell Bay Aluminium (COMALCO) has been part of Northern Tasmania’s economy for generations.
The smelter directly employs more than 550 people and supports hundreds more through a supply chain involving almost 300 local businesses. It contributes around $700 million in economic activity to Tasmania each year. Its future matters enormously to George Town, Bass and the wider Tasmanian economy.
When negotiations began over the smelter’s long-term energy arrangements, I have continually argued for a practical outcome that balanced the interests of workers, industry and Tasmanian taxpayers. I welcomed the 12-month bridging agreement reached between Hydro Tasmania and Bell Bay Aluminium, which provided important breathing space while negotiations continued on a sustainable long-term arrangement.
My position has been consistent. Securing Bell Bay Aluminium requires all three key parties to contribute. Hydro Tasmania has a role. The Australian Government has a role. Rio Tinto as the commercial operator certainly has a role. Tasmania should not and cannot be expected to carry the burden alone.
Holding Canberra to its Promises
Bell Bay Aluminium is already powered by Tasmania’s renewable hydro-electricity. My position is that this should be recognised as a strength, not become a tricky and perverse reason for Tasmania to lose out on promised Commonwealth support.
In January 2025, the Australian Government announced its $2 billion so-called “Green Aluminium Production Credit Scheme”. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese specifically named Bell Bay among the Australian smelters the new production credits would support. Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres also clearly confirmed that Bell Bay would be eligible.
That position later changed. In July 2026, Federal Labor stated that Bell Bay Aluminium would not be eligible under the scheme, despite its earlier specific promise that Bell Bay would be included.
My position is that the Commonwealth should honour the promise it made to Northern Tasmania and play a truly constructive role alongside Rio Tinto and the Tasmanian Government in securing Bell Bay Aluminium’s long-term future – just as it has recently done for Tomago Aluminium in New South Wales, where the Commonwealth and NSW governments jointly announced a $2.5 billion package to secure that smelter’s future beyond 2028.
I have also called on the Tasmanian Labor Opposition to stop working against Tasmanian taxpayers and instead join a united Tasmanian case to Canberra. Whatever our political differences, the future of Bell Bay Aluminium is too important to the workers, contractors, businesses and communities that rely on it to become a lose-lose political contest.
New and Continued Investment at Bell Bay
Bell Bay’s future must be about more than protecting the industries and jobs we already have. We also need to attract serious new investment that creates new jobs, opportunities for local contractors and greater confidence in the precinct.
I heartily welcome the exciting announcement that PolarBlue is preparing to establish an advanced manufacturing hub at Bell Bay. The company expects Phase One to create 150 long-term jobs, with an anticipated $1.5 billion in capital investment over its first three years.
The proposal follows three years of engagement between PolarBlue and the Tasmanian Government and is an encouraging sign of the huge opportunities on offer at Bell Bay.
We need more of this. I want to see both old and new employers investing alongside the major industries already at Bell Bay, creating jobs and opportunities for local businesses and contractors and making full use of one of Tasmania’s most important industrial precincts.
Looking Ahead
For decades, industries at Bell Bay have provided well paid, stable jobs. They have supported local businesses and helped to build our strong communities across Northern Tasmania.
The closure of Liberty Bell Bay has reinforced how important it is to protect existing industry, attract new investment and give workers, contractors and local businesses confidence in the future of the precinct.
My focus remains squarely on securing our existing jobs, supporting every possible new opportunity and making sure Northern Tasmania has a strong voice in the decisions that will shape Bell Bay’s future.
As always, I will bring my experiences as Treasurer and a long-standing Bass MP to strongly advocate for Bell Bay, for Bass and for the Tasmanian families whose livelihoods depend on this important industrial precinct.
