Winston Peters says Tiwai's closure will impact on New Zealand as well as Southland

Friday, 24 July 2020

NZ First Leader Winston Peters says talk that Tiwai has been subsidised is a 'lie'.

NZ First Leader Winston Peters says he is not just in Invercargill for his public meeting to “Save Tiwai' because it’s an election year.

Yet, he stated if his party was in Government after the election it would commit to getting a 20-year agreement in place with Rio Tinto with a review at 10 years.

NZ First would ensure Rio Tinto would pay respectable prices for power.The original agreement of 10 per cent would be respectable, he said.

Responding to a question from the crowd, Peters said he would only be able to deliver once he was elected.

* Winston Peters to hold 'Save Tiwai' public meeting in Invercargill

* Deputy Prime Minister vows to fight for Tiwai aluminium smelter

NZ First Leader Winston Peters fronts a crowd of about 300 who have turned up to his public meeting at the Invercargill to “Save Tiwai”.

Peters said the 'bureaucrats from Wellington' had deceived Southland and that power for Tiwai had never been subsidised.

The closure of Tiwai would have an impact on not just Southland but New Zealand, he said.

‘’We are pleased you turned up today because you believe your destiny are in your hands and not some bureaucrats in Wellington.’’

‘’[Southland] has got 3 per cent of the population and 18 per cent of the exports, but do you feel wealthy?’’

Prior to the meeting at 1pm in Invercargill, Peters was on-site at the Tiwai smelter for a private meeting with bosses and staff.

About 300 people have turned up to hear NZ First leader Winston Peters speak at a public meeting in Invercargill to 'Save Tiwai'.

The Deputy Prime Minister is at odds with coalition partners Labour as to what should be done on the back Rio Tinto’s announcement it will close the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point near Invercargill.

Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern wants the focus to be on creating new jobs for Southland to fill the close to 1000 direct jobs attached to Tiwai, and a further 1000-plus indirect jobs.

However, Peters wants the smelter to remain open long-term and has pushed for a worker/management buy-out of Tiwai.

At an E tū union meeting last week, union delegate and Tiwai staff member Cliff Dobbie said there was no chance of a management or worker buyout.

NZ First leader Winston Peters arrives at the Tiwai Smelter on Friday morning for a private meeting with bosses and workers.

Dobbie said the concept had not been brought up with staff and would not be economically viable.

A statement from Rio Tinto this week welcomed the deputy prime minister’s support of the contribution the smelter makes towards New Zealand’s economy.

However, Rio Tinto did not currently see a management buy-out as a viable option.

“The strategic review of the operation concluded that the smelter, is not economically viable due to energy and transmission costs that are some of the highest in the industry globally, coupled with a challenging short to medium term aluminium outlook,” the statement read.

Peters will then hold a ‘Save Tiwai’ public meeting at the Invercargill Workingmen’s Club at 1pm.

Ardern, Finance Minister Grant Robertson, and Energy Minister Megan Woods visited Invercargill last week to talk through the ramifications of Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point closure announcement.

It is understood the night before the visit Peters told the ministers they would be speaking on behalf of the Labour party during the visit and not the Government, given New Zealand First did not share the same views.

RNZ reported on Thursday that the ministers were set to announce a $100 million “Just Transition” package for Southland during the visit but New Zealand First representatives did not agree with the package because they want more analysis of the pros and cons.

Regional Economic Minister and New Zealand First MP Shane Jones said Southland’s situation would be contested politically over the coming weeks in the lead-up to the election.

In the RNZ report, he denied Southlanders would miss out because of politics.

'And there's 14 months according to Rio [Tinto] before they bail out so there's no shortage of opportunity for either the market to derive solutions or a future government.'

On Friday, ahead of the public meeting Peters and Jones announced the Provincial Growth Fund would back Southland’s aquaculture industry with an $8 million loan to develop a salmon hatchery in the deep south.

The funding will enable Sanford Ltd to construct the first stage of a modular land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) salmon hatchery for the growing of chinook (king) salmon at Ocean Beach in Bluff.