Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter owners, Rio Tinto, have reaffirmed their ongoing partnership with Ngāi Tahu in a meeting in Christchurch on Saturday (3 Aug).

Both partners noted the certainty provided by the continued operation of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, which benefits the entire Southland region and supports New Zealand’s decarbonisation efforts.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said the partnership with Murihiku papatipu rūnaka, which is framed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, was pivotal to the success of the smelter going forward.

“Our understanding of Te Tiriti is that parties work together in good faith, with respect and trust for one another.

“We have a shared ambition to remediate environmental impacts of the smelter’s operation, many of them historic in nature, while supporting the whole Murihiku community now and into the future."

"This agreement lays a path for us to work together on Tiwai’s site remediation, energy development, and community investment – priorities for both mana whenua and Rio Tinto,” Stausholm said.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu group head of strategy and environment and Awarua Rūnaka trustee spokeswoman, Jacqui Caine, said Te Tiriti o Waitangi sat at the heart of our relationship with Rio Tinto and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS).

“Our Memorandum of Understanding ensures that parties collaborate respectfully in the site’s remediation, benefit the community materially, and that distinct Ngāi Tahu interests in the site, including 34 cultural heritage sites, are actively protected.”

Upoko of Te Rūnaka o Awarua, Tā Tipene O’Regan was pleased that NZAS has reached a twenty-year agreement with electricity providers, securing the future of Tiwai Point.

“Had Rio Tinto ceased operations and made a hard exit, it would have impacted every New Zealand taxpayer, given the share of the New Zealand electricity market NZAS currently accounts for, in addition to challenges of environmental remediation," he said.

“In the absence of alternative industries, that hard exit would have had a massive negative social and economic impact, given the direct and indirect employment the smelter creates.”

“The Murihiku community and New Zealand as a whole have benefitted from NZAS staying open. That is clear."

"It is important for people to understand that the pathway leading to this positive outcome was paved by collaborations with Ngāi Tahu and a functional commitment to the principles of Te Tiriti by Rio Tinto," O'Regan said.