The glibness of Ministers Woods and Robertson’s announcements following news of the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter show the pair up to be not only chinless but gutless too.
The whole ‘air of inevitability’ throwaway to the destruction of the far-South economy and Meridian Energy profits belies the fully-intentioned nature of the move — clearly signalled by MBIE and Treasury in briefing papers to the introduction of the Zero Carbon bill — passed into law by the current parliament.
It’s not just the smelter, there is zero future for steel production in New Zealand either. Beyond 2024, that’ll be another 1,200 direct and 800 indirect jobs destroyed by green ideology. There will be many thousands more as the golly green giant tears away our economy to the predicted tune of $250,000,000,000 before 2050. Yes, really: 250 Billion dollars – a quarter of a trillion, say it however you like.
How Meridian and the 840 staff employed there (480 of whom earn over $100,000 per annum) handle the loss of some $420M revenue when their very best year, in terms of financial performance (2019) saw them return a profit (after tax) of $339M, will be interesting to say the least. To the average citizen that looks a lot like an $80M hole to fill with nowhere to send the surplus energy to. There’s no infrastructure in place, even if customers could be found.
Woods and Robertson should have been honest and said: “This was always our aim, we don’t want these industries in Clean Green New Zealand, we want aluminium and steel to be produced by coal-fired furnaces half a world away. We don’t care about your life’s work, but don’t get down about it; be like Greta and see the carbon dioxide presently menacing Bluff and Invercargill melt away to meaninglessness, just like your employment opportunities. We simply don’t care, so why should you?”
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