Commenting on a story on page 8 of today's Sydney Morning Herald ('Metal producers may get lifeline of five years') Dr Kaye said: "Eastern Australia is one of the worst places to be manufacturing aluminium.

"Smelting aluminium is electricity intensive.

"Producing a tonne of aluminium in NSW, where 90 percent of the electricity comes from burning coal, is responsible for many times more CO2 than if it were made in other parts of the world where power supplies are based on hydro and gas.

"Off-shoring the smelters would reduce global emissions. No matter how efficient this state's aluminium industry becomes it is still more greenhouse polluting than in most other parts of the world.

"In NSW the 1,500 jobs in smelting are already heavily subsidised through electricity contracts dating back to the Wran era.

"The Green Paper shows that the political power of the aluminium industry continues to win them special deals.

"If the smelters in NSW are provided with free carbon certificates and the market price is $40 a tonne, the industry would be receiving an additional subsidy of $439 million a year, which translates to $290,000 per job.

"The Greens argue that this money could be better spent on industry transformation and retraining the existing workers.

"The cost of free permits and subsidies could fund a substantial income security and skills package that would build new sustainable industries to replace the employment and economic activity of aluminium smelting.

"This would be a better path for the environment and for jobs," Dr Kaye said.

For more information:    John Kaye 0407 195 455