Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods has confirmed the Government is still working through a process so Rio Tinto can make a gradual transition for its plan to exit Southland.

Ms Woods and Finance Minister Grant Robertson met with Southland stakeholders in Invercargill last week to continue working on the transition, which Tiwai Point aluminium smelter owner Rio Tinto has said will happen next year.

“It was a good chance to hear further from the community about the way they are thinking about a transition process for the region, and we were able to reflect back our commitment to ensuring we are doing what we can to ensure that if possible, Rio Tinto keeps operating the smelter for another three or so years beyond its anticipated closure in August 2021,” Ms Woods said today (December 16).

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“We have been clear from the start that any arrangement to assist Rio Tinto with meeting their electricity transmission costs will require a firm commitment around remediation of the Tiwai aluminium smelter site. 

“We are determined to avoid a toxic wasteland being left behind. This is also the strongly held position of mana whenua and other parts of the community,” she said.

Ms Woods said there were several exciting opportunities emerging “for Southland’s extraordinary renewable energy resource from the Manapouri hydro dam’’.

Plans were already underway to improve transmission infrastructure to enable movement of the electricity to other parts of the region and further north, she said.

The way forward for Tiwai Point is still unclear. PHOTO: Marjorie Cook

After last week's meeting, Southland Mayoral Forum chairman Tracy Hicks said the community needed to know what was happening and have timelines for a way forward.  

An extended transition period is important to the region, which is working on plans to cope with the loss of a major prop to the Southland economy (an estimated $500 million, impacting on 2600 jobs).

Smelter site remediation could cost up about $256 million.

There are calls for the energy supplied to the smelter from Meridian Energey's power station at Manapouri to stay in the south.

Rio Tinto spokeswoman Jen Nolan said this week the company did not have an update on the situation.

READ MORE: Tiwai Point smelter closure: Southland needs to know what’s happening, says Tracy Hicks