Petition launched to rid Mataura of ouvea premix

Monday, 24 February 2020

NZ First List MP Mark Patterson launches a petition in Mataura to rid the town of Ouvea Premix, which is housed in the unused Mataura paper mill building.

The message is clear and so is the tagging that now adorns an old paper mill in Mataura demanding the ouvea premix be removed from the town.

On Monday, NZ First List LP Mark Patterson launched a petition calling on the House of Representatives to urge the Government to take any means necessary to remove the aluminium dross from the Mataura paper mill and relocate it to Tiwai Point.

Sort Out The Dross spokesperson Laurel Turnbull was the first to sign the petition, with Carl Energiser waiting on left. The petition calls for the ouvea premix being stored in Mataura to be moved to Tiwai Point.

'We must not let pressure locally recede as the water has receded because this has been a long torturous process, it has taken six years, and as soon as it leaves the headlines the danger is that it will still be there in six more or two more as it takes to get the current contract to work its way through.'

**READ MORE:

24022020. Robyn Edie. News. Southland Times/Stuff.Tagging on the unused Mataura Papermill buildings which house Ouvea Premix. Recent flooding was close to the Premix which releases toxic gases when wet.

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* Rio Tinto behaviour 'outrageous' over ouvea premix, Environment Minister David Parker says

* Deal to remove hazardous substance from Mataura canned**

The petition will be circulated in Mataura, Gore, Wyndham and Edendale during the next three weeks.

Paterson will present the to his own Government.

The petition would be presented to the Environment Select Committee as quickly as possible, he said.

The petition launch, attended by about 100 people, was attended by Labour list MP Liz Craig, National Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker and Gore district mayor Tracy Hicks, as well as Sort The Dross action group members Cherie Chapman and Laurel Turnbull.

Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks said in his mind it was important that the premix went to Tiwai Point.

'That's where it came from originally, and I believe that there's a responsibility - Rio Tinto would argue that they don't have a legal responsibility - I'm sure that there will be counter arguments to that come forward, but whether they have a legal responsibility or not they have a moral responsibility as a large corporate, in fact probably the largest corporate in our province and we need to be sending them a message loud and clear.'

Sort the Dross member Cherie Chapman said it was important that the premix was not dumped in other Southland towns where it could cause more problems.

Rio Tinto and the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter refused to comment about the petition.

On Monday, Environment Minister David Parker's office confirmed that he has received preliminary legal advice regarding the premix and was considering it.

Rio Tinto is in talks with the Government about the fate of the premix, which was left in Mataura when Taha Asia Pacific went into receivership in 2016.

About 9500 tonnes of premix, which produces ammonia gas if it gets wet, is stored inside the building.

Earlier this month Rio Tinto backed out of a deal to fast-track the removal of the premix from Mataura, which prompted Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to say a long term solution needed to be found for the residents of the town.