Ministers head south for Tiwai talks

Thursday, 10 December 2020

Ministers will meet with Southland leaders to discuss the future of the plant on Friday but no major announcements are expected to be made.

Finance minister Grant Robertson and Energy and Resources minister Megan Woods will be in Invercargill on Friday to update stakeholders on the discussions relating to the future of the aluminium smelter at Tiwai.

A spokesperson for Woods said the pair were always planning to meet with community leaders before the end of the year, while Robertson’s spokesperson said they would not be making any announcements.

The news comes 10 days after Southland Mayoral Forum chair and Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks voiced his disappointment that there was still uncertainty around the closure of the plant.

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Smelter owner Rio Tinto announced in July that it would close the operation in August 2021, because of high energy costs and challenges in the aluminium industry.

Southland leaders wanted the smelter to stay open for another three to five years while the economy transitioned to other industries.

The Labour Party said negotiations around the smelter were a priority when it won the election.

Hicks has repeatedly said a decision on the future of the plant needed to be made before Christmas.

“This [plant] is not something you can just switch off, there’s a long lead time involved,” he said earlier this month.

Major issues still needed to be worked through including a “fair” transmission price for the smelter, Hicks said.

The national grid operator Transpower is owned by Government.

A spokesperson for Robertson’s office said last week that a range of discussions had been taking place between the Government and Rio Tinto, but declined to give more detail as they were “all commercial in nature”.