Live: $2.5b Tomago aluminium smelter bailout 'vital', minister says

live Federal politics live: $2.5bn Tomago bailout 'vital' to protect Australia's largest aluminium smelter, minister says The federal and NSW governments are set to unveil a $2.5 billion bailout of the Tomago aluminium smelter in the state's Hunter region. Follow all the updates in our live blog. Submit a comment or question Live updates Labor to introduce revised News Bargaining Incentive bill to parliament today The federal government will introduce a revised News Bargaining Incentive bill to parliament today, forcing big tech companies to pay more for news content on their platforms. The likes of Google, Microsoft and Meta will face an increased levy of 2.5 per cent on digital advertising revenue, unless they strike content deals with Australian media companies. Labor's latest amendments will force platforms to make commercial deals with at least eight organisations, instead of six as proposed earlier. The cap for each deal has been raised from 16 to 25 per cent of the total levy, following concerns from media giants Nine and Newscorp. The two largest recipients of funding under the current scheme previously warned Labor's plan would cut funding, risk local journalism and could result in job losses. Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino says the changes will ensure platforms are incentivised to make deals with small and larger media outlets. "We want to see deals between digital platforms and a diverse range of media organisations to ensure fair recompense for the use of content," Mulino says in a statement. Australia's largest aluminium plant to receive $2.5 billion bailout Australia's largest aluminium smelter, Tomago Aluminium, will receive a $2.5 billion bailout from the federal and NSW governments over 10 years. The plant's owner, Rio Tinto, warned last year the facility would be forced to close when its energy contract runs out in 2028 due to rising energy costs. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns will make the announcement at the plant located in the state's Hunter region. Under the deal, the operators of Tomago Aluminium will have to share profits with the Commonwealth when aluminium prices are high. Tomago Aluminium, which is Australia's largest single energy user, has agreed to contribute at least $1.1 billion to help decarbonise and implement a demand-response program. Speaking to Channel Nine, Industry Minister Tim Ayres says the government investment will secure more than 1,000 jobs at the plant. "It's a national asset. These workers here, blue collar workers, who work hard everyday, turn up early and they've got a government, an Albanese government working with the Minns NSW government to back them, and back this vital national industrial asset," Ayres says. "This facility, our largest and youngest aluminium producer, is vital for Australia and we're really proud to back these workers," Ayres says. Good morning 👋 Hello, and welcome to our federal politics live blog! It's great to have you join us here early this Thursday morning. I'm Josh Boscaini, joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news. The federal and NSW governments will today announce a $2.5 billion bailout of the embattled Tomago smelter in the state's Hunter region. And Labor will introduce its revised News Bargaining Incentive bill to parliament, which will force big tech companies to pay more for news content on their platforms. Without further ado, let's get into the day and see what happens on the final sitting day of this week! Loading