Alarm at small crowd for smelter meeting

Thursday, 5 December 2019

Will Tiwai Point close for good?

Southland has a population of nearly 100,000 people but fewer than 100 turned up to a meeting focussed on the fight to keep the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter open.

The small crowd was met with alarm by some who suggested Southlanders were apathetic despite the threat of 1000 direct and another 1000 indirect jobs being lost if the smelter closed, not to mention the ripple effects that would cause.

The Thursday evening meeting at Centre Stage in Invercargill was hosted by the Fight For Fairness campaign team and featured smelter chief executive Stew Hamilton, who set out to outline what was happening, debunk myths and take questions from the public.

Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter boss Stew Hamilton speaks at a Fight for Fairness public meeting in Invercargill on Thursday. At left is smelter communications manager Jen Nolan and at right is Southland Chamber of Commerce president Neil McAra.

The message during the meeting, from campaign leader Carla Forbes, was that the Southland public needed to make noise and let the Government know its feelings on the issue.

NZAS chief executive Stewart Hamilton makes the case for intervention to save the aluminium smelter in October.

**READ MORE:

* Petition launched to save smelter

* Campaign being launched to save Tiwai aluminium smelter

* Rio Tinto 'not bluffing' about threat to shut Tiwai Point smelter

The Tiwai Aluminium Smelter, which is under threat of closure. .

* Can Southland's economy cope if the smelter doors are shut?

* Rio Tinto considering closing Tiwai Aluminium Smelter

* Reform proposal 'big blow' to Tiwai aluminium smelter**

One man in the audience said he understood the Government was listening to the smelter, as talks between the pair continued.

But he noted the small crowd and the scarcity of Tiwai workers in the audience.

Hundreds of Tiwai workers were at home 'sitting on their asses', cracking a beer and watching TV while the meeting was taking place, he said.

'They find that more important than being here, which is absolutely crazy.'

He believed there was a massive amount of complacency coming out of Tiwai itself, 'so if we don't care, why should they care'.

Hamilton said there were some people who believed Tiwai was bluffing, but he said this was different given smelter owner Rio Tinto was doing a strategic review of the smelter for the first time, with closure an 'absolute possibility'.

People had to stand up and be heard and fight for the fairness, Hamilton said.

'If we can't get our own people to fight for it, how can we expect people north of Southland to fight for us.'

The audience heard about 5000 people had signed a petition to keep the smelter open but it was suggested the aim should be at least 30,000 signatures.

Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt said it felt like Southland was under seige.

The smelter, alongside agriculture and the Southern Institute of Technology, was vital to Southland and all measures had to be taken to hold onto it, he said.

Southland Chamber of Commerce president Neil McAra said the loss of 1000 direct and 1000 more indirect jobs would affect all businesses.

Southlanders needed to get behind the 'desperate cause' as it would be devastating to lose the smelter.

The loss of the smelter would result in the aluminium production going to China with coal powered stations which would not be good for the environment, he said.

He also urged the public to be loud on the issue as Southland had fewer than 100,000 people and Central Government didn't tend to listen well to small populations.

In October, the smelter's owner, Rio Rinto, said it was considering closing down the smelter at Tiwai due to high energy costs and low aluminium prices which were making the business unprofitable.

Rio Tinto announced it was conducting a strategic review of the Tiwai operation to determine its ongoing viability, with decision is expected in the first quarter of 2020.

Hamilton said the smelter needed to remain sustainable and was in talks with the Government and power companies.

It could not compete globally currently due to its high power and transmission costs compared to other smelters worldwide, he said.

Hamilton said in the last decade NZAS had subsidised the North Island by more than $200m in transmission upgrades and assets the smelter would never use.

There had been no changes to power prices when potlines at the plant had shut down previously, he said.

NZAS contributed about $400m to New Zealand each year, mostly to electricity and transmission companies majority owned by the Government.

Without that flow of money coming into New Zealand from the smelter the cash would need to be found from other sources and potentially result in power prices staying high, he said.