NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Winston Peters: The future of Tiwai is a matter of national interest

By Winston Peters
NZ Herald·
15 Jul, 2020 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Winston Peters says the closure of Tiwai would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to transmit this surplus electricity to consumers in the north. Photo / Gregor Richardson

Winston Peters says the closure of Tiwai would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to transmit this surplus electricity to consumers in the north. Photo / Gregor Richardson

Opinion

COMMENT

News that Rio Tinto has announced that it is planning to wind-down operations at the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter could not have a come at a worse time for the people
of Southland.

While it has been clear that Rio Tinto was never going to support Southlanders over the long haul, especially the workers who actually produce its world-class aluminium, and the businesses that survive off the back of its operations, we now have 2700 people who could lose their jobs.

They are victims of a corporation which, in my opinion, has no regard for local economies and communities.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rio Tinto, a foreign multi-national company, has received hundreds of millions of dollars in direct and indirect government subsidies over the years. But still, this is not enough.

It follows a pattern of behaviour in countries such as Iceland and Australia, where the taxpayers are squeezed dry to prop up a refinery, which then proceeds to be shut down.

The Tiwai announcement should come as no surprise; predators rarely feel empathy for their prey.

That said, there has been something very wrong with the relationship between the electricity generator and the smelter as Tom Campbell, a former general manager at the smelter back in the early 2000s, has argued.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In New Zealand, unlike elsewhere in Europe, Canada and Australia, Rio Tinto and
Meridian Energy have had an adversarial rather than collaborative relationship. That's how things snap, when one or the other party feels aggrieved that the other side won't give a little to receive a lot.

The Manapouri Power Station was built for the purpose of ensuring adequate electricity for the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter. Photo / Kenny Rodger, file.
The Manapouri Power Station was built for the purpose of ensuring adequate electricity for the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter. Photo / Kenny Rodger, file.

It also underscores the flawed models that drive such perverse outcomes from our energy sector. It is a market failure.

Discover more

Opinion

Peter Lyons: Money, banking and the post-Covid economy

12 Jul 05:00 PM
Opinion

Grant Gillon: Auckland Council's emergency Covid budget is dishonest scaremongering

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Opinion

Raining on Auckland's parade: Why things could be even worse next year

14 Jul 05:00 PM
Opinion

Another move in the long Tiwai Pt chess game

15 Jul 05:00 PM

It is also, ultimately, self-defeating for both Rio Tinto and Meridian Energy. Rio Tinto loses one of its most efficient plants that globally produces the purest aluminium, 99.98 per cent pure. Meridian Energy has no alternative customer for the 600 megawatts of electricity that went to the smelter.

Then there are the hundreds of millions of dollars which will be required to, over a 10-year period, transmit this surplus energy northwards. All of this, based on past experience, will likely be passed on to long-suffering energy consumers.

Chronic short-termism characterises both sides of the argument, with the good people of Southland now squarely caught in the middle.

When even Steven Joyce – of Novopay, the South Canterbury Finance $1.4 billion blow-out, the Sky City sweetheart deal, and the $11 billion non-existent fiscal hole, infamy – makes a modicum of sense on this matter, it's fair to say the Government must take notice.

Southlanders are, after all, asking to stop an unfair levy - not a fresh subsidy - so something must be done.

The sun rising over the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter viewed from Bluff. Photo / Mark Mitchell, file
The sun rising over the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter viewed from Bluff. Photo / Mark Mitchell, file

We have 14 months to fix this, and fix it we will. Any government with New Zealand First in it, now and in the future, will ensure those jobs are not lost to Southlanders.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Instead of caving in and paying $30 million to a Rio Tinto subsidiary seven years ago, National should have called Rio Tinto's bluff and supported New Zealand First's idea of a worker/management buy-out - something I've been advocating since 2011.

Why? Because the real blunt commercial reality is that Rio Tinto has, in my view, nothing of value to sell. The real value for Rio Tinto is the goodwill implicit in the Holyoake Government's completion of the Manapouri Power Station in 1971 to supply it with electricity.

Additionally, any potential worker/management buy-out is not without leverage given the estimated $400 million worth of remediation Rio Tinto is up for as part of any exit strategy.

A buy-out would give those who have the most stake in the success of the smelter, the people of Southland, the opportunity to directly benefit from owning and managing it.

Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell

And on the issue of national interest, why would we continue to import junk aluminium, with sometimes a two-year guarantee or less, when New Zealand is producing the most pure, lowest emission, aluminium in the world. It makes no sense.

For how much longer must we go on failing to defend our national interests?

Throwing in the towel is not an option from New Zealand First's perspective and let's be open to look at any innovative solution that can preserve one of the mainstays of the Southland economy.

It is not just Tiwai where New Zealand workers face uncertainty. It is no different up north, where the Marsden Pt refinery is also facing an uncertain future.

In a time of economic crisis, the New Zealand Government cannot save every business, but for Tiwai Aluminium Smelter, and Marsden Point Oil Refinery, we have some compelling reason to try.

• Winston Peters is the leader of New Zealand First.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Business

Premium
Business

Court to decide Du Val asset seizure orders

16 Jun 08:07 AM
Premium
Shares

Market close: Tourism Holdings jumps 57.5% on buyout offer

16 Jun 05:55 AM
Premium
Business

Little Island, plant-based ice cream company that raised millions, in liquidation

16 Jun 04:00 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Court to decide Du Val asset seizure orders

Court to decide Du Val asset seizure orders

16 Jun 08:07 AM

Du Val reportedly owes $306m to investors and creditors, according to PwC.

Premium
Market close: Tourism Holdings jumps 57.5% on buyout offer

Market close: Tourism Holdings jumps 57.5% on buyout offer

16 Jun 05:55 AM
Premium
Little Island, plant-based ice cream company that raised millions, in liquidation

Little Island, plant-based ice cream company that raised millions, in liquidation

16 Jun 04:00 AM
Premium
How worried should we be about economic fallout from the Israel-Iran conflict?

How worried should we be about economic fallout from the Israel-Iran conflict?

16 Jun 03:31 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP