Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has teamed up with Australia’s richest man to sell ‘green’ iron to China.
Mr Andrew’s consultancy firm Forty Eight and Partners is working with Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s company Fortescue, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The two companies have pledged to supply 100 million tons of “green” iron to China after recently meeting at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province in March.
Mr Andrews, who spoke at the event, did not share specific details about the partnership with Mr Forrest, who also attended as a key sponsor.
It marks the first high-profile role Andrews has taken on since stepping down as prime minister in 2023.
Mr Forrest is Australia’s richest man with a net worth of $21.5 billion.
Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ next move has been revealed by sources at the Sydney Morning Herald
Mr Andrews’ consultancy, Forty Eight and Partners, partners with Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s Fortescue to supply 100 million tonnes of ‘green’ iron to China
Sources revealed that the pair hope to supply iron with carbon emissions stripped from its entire extraction, processing and supply chain operations.
This extraction process would require eight million tons of renewable hydrogen annually.
Mr Forrest has hired former politicians in the past, hiring former South Australian Labor Prime Minister Jay Weatherill in 2019.
Mr Forrest and Mr Weatherill worked together to lead the Thrive by Five early childhood education campaign that Mr Forrest created with his then wife Nicola.
Details of the agreement between Andrews and Forrest have yet to be revealed, and it is not yet known how the company will be run or who will run it.
The former prime minister spent his career promoting closer trade ties with China through his canceled Belt and Road initiatives.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, used sweeping foreign veto laws to defeat Andrews’ 2021 deal with China.
Andrews has been working to promote closer ties between Australia and China, and is said to have hosted his latest venture in China in March (photo by Chinese President Xi Jinping)
In September last year, Mr Andrews announced he was resigning from the top job at Jacinta Allan to take up the mantle.
Mr Andrews held the top job for nine years, making him Victoria’s longest-serving Labor premier.
He became perhaps Australia’s most divisive politician – and certainly one of its most iconic – during the Covid pandemic.
He made the surprising decision to quit after discussions with his wife Catherine and the couple’s three children, Grace, Joseph and Noah.