Tiwai decision must be made soon, Southland leaders say

Friday, 28 August 2020

National leader Judith Collins explains why it's important to save Tiwai in Southland.

Quick intervention post-election will be needed from the Government to save Tiwai, southern leaders say.

National Party leader Judith Collins was in Invercargill on Friday, and said the party was committed to saving jobs and Tiwai.

Reacting to that news, southern leaders were exceptionally keen to pin down a timeframe of when, or if, National could make that a reality.

Collins was committed to facilitating negotiations between Rio Tinto, power companies and Transpower, to reduce transmission costs, she said.

* Judith Collins says Tiwai deal possible with lower electricity price

* Southland leaders to push Tiwai case on Monday

Southland Mayoral Forum chairman and Gore District mayor Tracy Hicks called Collins’ announcement positive.

“I guess the direction that National are talking about is one that has to be sorted,” he said.

Southland Mayoral Forum chairman Tracy Hicks was pleased to hear that the National Party intended to “fill the gap” if it could not successfully negotiate a deal to keep the Tiwai smelter open by the end of the year.

But negations were going to be a challenge, he said – which is why he asked Collins during her announcement whether National would fill the gap if a decision on the future of the smelter couldn't be made before the end of the year.

He was pleased to hear that it would.

Southland Chamber of Commerce president Neil McAra said the announcement provided clarity on National’s position.

“They have a clear plan for how they can solve the issue before December,” he said, adding that the end of the year would be the last chance to change the current plan of closing the smelter in 2021.

This would only be possible with Government intervention, McAra said.

When asked if he thought National would be able to “get things done” – as Collins put it – he replied: “You can only take them on their word, can’t you?”

Great South chief executive Graham Budd said National’s stance was encouraging, and what he had hoped to hear.

He reiterated McAra’s comments about the timeframe for negotiations

“There’s no question that there needs to be a quick intervention post-election,” Budd said.

Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt said extending the lifespan of the smelter would give Southlanders a chance to speak to “our fellow New Zealanders” about the benefits of the smelter.

Collins made her announcement at the Invercargill-based Yunca Group, which is a supplier to the smelter.

Yunca chief executive Karyna Young said Collins wanted to speak to people who would be directly impacted by the closure of the smelter.

The company holds a number of contracts with the aluminium smelter, supplying it with components like geodes and anodes, maintenance, and Enpot energy regulation technology.

Rio Tinto said Friday that it was open to reviewing the effectiveness of the Enpot technology, which controls the heat loss of smelting pots, thereby reducing energy consumption.

When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited Invercargill in July, there was no gesture to keep the smelter open, and the discussion with southern leaders was about how the region could “transition” once the smelter closes.

Southland leaders at the time implored the Prime Minister to keep the smelter going for another five years, but it appeared to fall on deaf ears with no immediate response.

Since then, Meridian and Rio Tinto have been back in talks, and latterly, Stuff reported on Friday that Rio Tinto was engaged in “further discussions with the Government” over its electricity transmission bills, which are charged by Transpower.