Behind the headlines that trumpeted the historic $2.5 billion Tomago Aluminium Smelter bailout, was a very human story about why this deal matters.
Yes, more than 1000 workers were celebrating on Thursday that the massive Hunter-based manufacturing industry will exist beyond 2028.
But the cheers also conveyed a palpable sigh of relief because it meant many of the plant's younger could continue to support their young families in the region.
"We've got a lot of young people here. A lot of them have mortgages that are only two or three years in," operator Luke Miller said.
"When you've got young kids it makes it pretty hard to plan when you don't know what the future holds so it's pretty good to be able to come home with a smile and tell them that we have another 10 years."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who led what was probably the largest single gathering of Labor politicians ever seen in the Hunter, was also keenly aware of the social impact of the joint state and federal government agreement to ensure the smelter's future.
He referred to Jordan Brownley and Matt Eccles who had recently bought a home in Raymond Terrace. The smelter announcement had secured their future in the area.
"The idea that we sit and allow this facility to just disappear, would have had consequences," Mr Albanese said.
"We cannot afford to be at the end of supply chains. We need to be a country that makes things, and there is nowhere better in Australia that has a history of making things than the Newcastle and Hunter regions, and that is why this is so important, right here today."
Thirty-year Tomago veteran Marcus Faulkner praised the resilience of workers while they anxiously awaited the outcome of the negotiations that would determine their fate.
"Let's be honest, we were going to be out of a job in 2028," Mr Faulkner said.
"We've got to thank the operators. Heavy industry is a dangerous environment and they came to work, stayed focused and stayed safe with that anxiety hanging over them all the time."
The bailout, to be jointly funded by the state and federal governments, is the largest rescue package for an Australian smelter to date.
The joint investment will underpin nearly three gigawatts of new renewable generation and firming capacity, strengthening the state's electricity system and supporting long-term energy affordability and reliability for NSW.
Tomago has agreed to invest at least $1.1 billion in the facility as part of the deal.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the three gigawatts of new energy would come from a variety of sources.
"It won't all be in the Hunter. It'll be spread predominantly out through NSW," he said.
"It will take projects which have been worked on in the pipeline that may have already received environmental approval but haven't reached a final investment decision.
Some will be wind farms, others will be solar backed by batteries. The combination of a portfolio put together, working with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Snowy Hydro, [will ensure] the future of aluminium is decarbonised.
At times in the past six months, a deal between NSW and the Commonwealth appeared unlikely.
In particular, NSW argued that it should not have to pay 50 per cent of the $2.5 billion bailout.
In the end, progress on a number of other state and federal agreements not related to Tomago helped get the deal done.
"Once we worked out where the federal government could help us we were in a stronger financial position," Mr Minns said.
"There were a lot of jobs on the line, but because the amount of money was so massive we had to make sure we crossed our Ts and dotted our Is. We will roll out some of those agreements, but it's not just Tomago, it's a range of things we agreed on."
He said the freshly minted agreement would ensure the Hunter remained an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse
"We have got a proper plan for this region that involves good, well-paid jobs deep into the future, and we aren't going to be the kind of government either at the state or the federal level that turns its back on these kind of jobs," he said.
"If we're serious and with a straight face are making the claim that Australia is a place that builds things, then Tomago has to remain open."
Although the prime minister was determined to focus on the nationally significant Tomago bailout, the subject of his comments about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "melons" was never far away.
In response to a reporter's question about what he had meant when he used his hands to describe Takaichi's melons, Mr Albanese explained that he often used his hands when speaking before adding that he had "answered this question many times".
A clearly frustrated Chris Minns interjected.
"Go and ask a thousand workers what they care about today," he said.
"Obviously, this is the biggest announcement for this region in a generation. Can we just talk about it for five minutes?"
The subject was not revisited before the media news conference ended.
