In 2017, the billionaire businessman Sanjeev Gupta rescued the Whyalla steelworks from administration, becoming known as the “saviour of steel”. 

There was hope in this small town, 400 kilometres north of Adelaide, that steelmaking would continue and the thousands of people who rely on the steelworks for their livelihoods would get a reprieve. But now, the 60-year-old steelworks has been losing $1 million a day, and if it is forced to close – which looks increasingly likely – the town will be hit for six.

Recently, investigative journalist and former host of the ABC’s Media Watch Paul Barry visited Whyalla, to find out how the town can be saved and what a transition to green steel might look like.

 

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Guest: Investigative journalist and former host of the ABC’s Media Watch Paul Barry

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