Why the $2.5 billion Tomago aluminium deal is no ordinary bailout

On Thursday, the federal and New South Wales governments jointly announced a deal to bail out the Tomago aluminium smelter, at a cost of A$2.5 billion over ten years. The smelter is Australia’s largest single user of electricity. Its majority owner, mining giant Rio Tinto, had been warning higher electricity costs may force it to close. Since coming to power, the federal Labor government has stepped in to save a number of struggling industrial facilities around the country – to the collective…