Peters to make announcement at Tiwai Point
NEW Zealand First leader Winston Peters says his plan to save Tiwai is all about ‘‘telling the truth’’.
He remained coy about details yesterday, but is expected to make an announcement during a visit to the smelter this morning.
Mr Peters and his ‘‘Back Your Future’’ campaign bus tour visited Invercargill yesterday to talk to people and hear about local issues.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two main subjects of concern for Southlanders were the Tiwai smelter and the dross stored in Mataura.
Mr Peters did not explain exactly what was his plan for the smelter was, but said he was determined to save it.
He said New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) needed ‘‘a fair go’’, as 2600 jobs and $450 million were on the line.
‘‘All put at risk because of bad political decisions and apathetic concern out in Wellington.
‘‘My plan is telling the truth. There was a fair price mechanism. It’s been around for decades and in 1977 a prime minister threatened a 350% increase and since then the industry has been struggling even though it is the finest aluminium maker in the whole wide world.
‘‘All of them [Meridian and Rio Tinto] will be brought to the table to be reasonable but it starts with central government. It starts with the transmission cost.’’
During his visit, Mr Peters went to the Nulook Southland Windows and Doors workshop, which was previously granted funding from the Provincial Growth Fund.
Director Sam Riwhi gave him a bottle of whisky because his friends had told him the NZ First leader was a ‘‘whisky man’’.
‘‘I think he enjoyed it,’’ Mr Riwhi said.
Early in the day, Mr Peters met residents of Mataura who expressed huge concern about the aluminium dross stored at the town’s old paper mill site.
The dross, a byproduct of aluminium manufactured at Tiwai Point, can produce poisonous ammonia gas if it comes into contact with water. Mr Peters said the dross was not being removed at the ‘‘required speed’’ and residents were worried.
‘‘If it was downtown Queen St or Wellington or Auckland . . . this would not be happening.
‘‘But when it is happening in the provinces and the provinces have concerns — so much bureaucracy . . . they [the Government] just don’t listen.
‘‘How on Earth could central government let that happen? Our job is to fix it.’’
Mr Peters planned to visit the smelter early this morning, where he is expected to make an announcement.