Arabic version: دخول مصهر ليبرتي بيل باي مرحلة التصفية
According to ABC News, creditors have voted to liquidate the Liberty Bell Bay smelter in northern Tasmania and appointed its former administrators, EY Parthenon, as liquidators. The decision follows unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer for Australia’s only manganese alloy smelter.
The 66-year-old business entered administration in March following longstanding issues with former owner GFG Alliance. A potential sale collapsed last month, after which the smelter officially closed and 200 workers lost their jobs. A report to creditors found the business may have traded while insolvent for almost a year and is understood to owe between $70 million and $300 million, including $27 million to workers.
Former employees can apply through the federal government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee for many unpaid entitlements, including wages, redundancy pay, annual leave and long service leave. Payments are capped at a maximum weekly wage of $3,032, and the scheme does not cover unpaid superannuation. The Commonwealth government said affected workers and families were encouraged to use a dedicated Department of Employment and Workplace Relations webpage for information on support and entitlements.
Australian Workers Union assistant branch secretary Robert Flanagan said liquidation was part of the process for workers to recover their entitlements. Tasmanian Business, Industry and Resources Minister Felix Ellis described the outcome as “deeply disappointing” for George Town, Bell Bay and Northern Tasmania, while saying the government remained focused on supporting workers and families.
Ellis said a $14-million ore stockpile bought by the Tasmanian government last year is controlled by separate state-appointed receivers, who will begin a process to sell it. He said liquidation did not diminish the site’s strategic potential and that it had attracted third-party interest. Concerns have been raised that rehabilitation of the site could fall to the state government and cost about $200 million.
