We all know how some politicians, NGOs and environmental groups can ignore science when the truth is inconvenient. Brendan Pearson, Chief Executive, Minerals Council of Australia highlights a current great example: “Some instances of hypocrisy are so truly audacious in scale, so blissfully ignorant of irony,” he says, “so completely lacking in self-awareness that they simply take the breath away.

“A textbook example is the Greens’ support for the Arrium steelworks in Whyalla.  To see the Greens supporting heavy industry (rather than deriding it as a big polluter) is a welcome development.

“The problem is that the Greens want to phase out the use of coal.  And coal is a primary feedstock for the steelworks in Whyalla (as well as Bluescope’s Port Kembla plant).

“You cannot make steel in a blast furnace without coal.  Australian steelworks use millions of tonnes of coal annually, all sourced from local collieries.

“Incidentally, you cannot make wind turbines without coal.  In fact about 220 t of coal (both metallurgical and thermal coal) are required to produce a wind turbine.

“The Greens need to explain how it is possible to shut down Australian coal mining and still make Australian steel.  The only option would be to import coal from other producing nations.

“We look forward to clarification of the Greens’ position.

Nearly half of Australian coal production is metallurgical coal used in steel making. In 2014-15, metallurgical coal exports were valued at A$21.8 billion.  Approximately 70% of global steel output is produced in blast furnaces which require metallurgical coal.

In the Whyalla News on June 15, Person reports, the Greens candidate Jillian Marsh said “the ability to manufacture steel locally should be a key part of our State’s economic strategy. If we abandon the steel industry, we are abandoning an important part of our economy.”