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

The federal opposition has described the deal as a net zero "failure", while the Greens want the government to own a stake in the smelter.