Jacinda Ardern to seek delay to closure of Rio Tinto Tiwai smelter
NZ PM Jacinda Ardern has pledged to negotiate a 3-5 year delay in the closure of Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised her government will negotiate a three- to five-year delay in the closure of Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, as she campaigns for re-election.
Rio Tinto has said New Zealand’s sole aluminium smelter is not economically viable and plans to close it in August 2021, jeopardising several thousand jobs in the Southland region where it is located. The smelter consumes about 13 per cent of New Zealand’s electricity.
Delaying the smelter’s closure would allow more time for the region to develop new industries, Ms Ardern said on Monday.
Ms Ardern’s governing Labour Party has a substantial lead in opinion polls ahead of the national vote on October 17.
Negotiations with Rio Tinto would focus on maintaining the smelter’s workforce, eventual remediation of the smelter site and lowering the price it pays for transmission of electricity from the nearby Manapouri hydro dam, Ms Ardern said.
Rio Tinto has argued it is paying too much for electricity transmission and subsidising other industrial users given its proximity to Manapouri, which is operated by Meridian Energy.
Ms Ardern said the government could provide support to state-owned electricity grid operator Transpower, which would allow it reduce the smelter’s bill without passing the cost to other power consumers.
Dow Jones Newswires