Jacinda Ardern’s flight canceled due to bad weather in Invercargill

Jacinda Ardern’s travel plans have fallen apart as bad weather hits the South Island.

The Labor leader has been campaigning in Invercargill this morning. He was scheduled to take an afternoon flight out of the city of Southland, but it was canceled.

He is now heading to Dunedin to catch an overnight flight back to the North Island.

Drivers are told to stay off the roads, as heavy snow continues to fall over parts of the central South Island.

Transportation authorities issued the advisory shortly after 11:30 a.m., warning motorists that everyone planning to travel on highways or roads in the area should stay away unless they are “well prepared” for current conditions, including Poor visibility.

Rio Tinto

At a broad press conference this morning, Ardern said he wants to make sure Rio Tinto does “the right thing” when it comes to Southland workers.

The government wants to work with local leadership on a new plan of “huge and exciting” opportunities for Southland.

Such options include hydroelectric and data plants, Ardern said. She said there is a “long-term opportunity here.”

She said Labor was here to give as much assurance as he could.

The work promises to keep Southland’s Tiwai Point smelter on life support for another three to five years while the government works to transition the region’s economy.

If reelected, the party would work to reduce the amount of money the smelter pays for electricity, the main reason Rio Tinto said it would close the plant.

But there is a catch.

If the company wants cheaper energy prices, it must keep current employment at the site, agree to work on remediation, and work with the government regarding future use of the plant.

Energy Minister Megan Woods said the plan is to reach an agreement with Rio Tinto.

If the smelter collapsed, Auckland residents would pay about $ 10 million more in energy prices a year.

“It’s the right thing to do for New Zealand – we are avoiding the cliff,” he said.

This is an exciting opportunity, he added, “it is a once in a generation opportunity.”

Ardern said the offer to Rio Tinto was not a subsidy.

“We have said that we do not believe that we should provide a direct government subsidy to Rio Tinto.”

Ardern said Rio Tinto would be “aware” of its reputation. That was in reference to the company delivering on the bottom line.

Woods said he had been speaking with the company since February.

Those talks have been “constructive,” Woods said.

Meanwhile, Ardern said he wants to give “certainty” in the meantime.

He said the local iwi believed a phased approach was very important. There was a lot of interest in a green product and that green hydrogen should be taken “really seriously”.

“The opportunity to export energy here is good.”

She denied giving in to pressure, as Greenpeace suggested.

Ardern said his government would be “very interested” in making rapid progress on this issue.

Labor has committed $ 5 million to support just transition work.

This approach was used in Taranaki; Ardern said it worked well.

Ardern said he “struggled” to see any plans for National’s health infrastructure, given the “shameful” situation they left the sector in when they were in government.

“We want to move as soon as we can,” he said at Rio Tinto.

She disagreed with comments that the Green Party could interfere, if they were in government with Labor.

The key points of difference between National and Labor’s plans are around transitions – Woods said that’s the Labor plan, which is “fundamentally different” from National’s.

When asked why now, he said that NZ First “took a different view” than what the Labor Party launched today.

Travel bubble

This morning, it emerged in the Australian media that a travel bubble between New Zealand and New South Wales could open in a few weeks.

Initially, it would only be one-way with Kiwis heading to Australia, and it would be restricted to those living on the South Island.

At his press conference, Ardern didn’t put a date on the transtasman bubble because he said he wouldn’t want to disappoint.

He said it looked like Australia had changed its plans and would be targeting the “hot spots” so New Zealand needs to take a closer look.

But he didn’t say when he expected a bubble to kick in; She said the focus is on safety.

“We have to proceed with caution.”

But a state-by-state approach needs to be further explored before something is set in stone.

Nats Mental Health Policy

Meanwhile, he said he disagreed with National’s plans to provide a Minister of Mental Health, as mental health should be at the heart of the government’s approach at all levels.

When asked about last night’s poll, Collins said his focus was on economic rebuilding.

Ardern said using dogs to sniff out Covid was something he was watching with interest and New Zealand is “very open” to this.

However, training the dogs requires a lot of use of Covid in the community, Ardern said.
That’s something New Zealand doesn’t have, he said with a smile.

On defining sharks, Ardern said the government would be “very interested” in stopping that.

“It’s illegal and it’s wrong and we’ll go after them.”