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Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson says the government does not want a “toxic waste site” when Rio Tinto closes its aluminum smelter at Tiwai Point in Southland.
Robertson and Energy Minister Megan Woods were at Invercargill on Friday updating Southland stakeholders on discussions related to the future of the smelter.
The smelter’s owner, Rio Tinto, announced in July that it would close the plant in August 2021 due to its high energy costs and the challenges it faced in the aluminum industry.
But Southland leaders have been pushing for the smelter to stay open for another three to five years, so the region’s economy has time to transition to new industries.
The government is negotiating with Rio to see if this can happen, but a decision has not yet been made.
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Speaking to Stuff on Friday, Robertson said each party in the negotiations had things they wanted to achieve.
Electricity transmission costs were very important to Rio, while the rehabilitation of the site was very important to the government, he said.
“It is the union of that, that will be the agreement.”
The government wanted compromises around remediation, he said.
“For us, we have to think about future generations of Southerners. We don’t want a toxic waste site here, and I know Ngai Tahu’s opinion is … they want to know how the site is going to be repaired.”
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said a lot of “toxic stuff” came from the product developed at Tiwai over 50 years, and it was critical that there be a good understanding of what it looked like.
“Nobody knows, I don’t think Rio knows … and understanding what that means is pretty critical, so when Tiwai is finally done, the Southlanders and Southlanders won’t be left with a big bill to clean up the site.” .
It was accepted that there was a lack of understanding of what the repair would require, he said.
Rio had said that he would do the right thing through remediation, and he had no reason to doubt it, he added.
Robertson said the talks between the government and Rio were ongoing and he was optimistic the smelter would remain open for another three to five years.
“With the good will of all, I think we can.”
I was “hoping” that a decision would be made about the future of the plant before Christmas, which is what Rio has always said it wants to achieve.
An abrupt exit from the smelter was of no interest to anyone, and it was necessary to plan what would come after the smelter closed and what the power and site would be used for.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, left, and Energy Minister Megan Woods at Transport World in Invercargill between meetings with Southland stakeholders on the future of the Tiwai Point aluminum smelter on Friday.
Woods said government officials were talking to the people of Southland about what would come next.
There were many interesting opportunities and the Government was gathering the ideas.
Hicks said the meeting with Robertson and Woods was constructive and was reassured that they were committed to a result.
The focus of the Southland mayoral forum had not changed. They wanted the removal of Tiwai managed so that a transition plan could be put in place, they wanted a closed remediation arrangement, and decisions had to be made about the future use of the energy currently used by Tiwai.
A Rio Tinto spokeswoman said there was no update to give at this time.
