Great South lauds Tiwai announcement
Southland can now get on with “supercharging” its economy without the uncertainty surrounding the Tiwai aluminium smelter’s future, Great South says.
The regional development agency’s chairman Ian Collier said news the smelter would remain open for 20 years was a great day for Southland.
It had removed the uncertainty in the region, particularly for those people working at Tiwai and the businesses who supported it.
“It’s a fabulous announcement and we can’t wait to get on with it,” Collier said.
“The good news is Southland has a plan. The Beyond 2025 Plan is all about supercharging our economy and focusing on the region, and now that [the Tiwai] decision is made, it allows us to get on with it without the uncertainty.”
Diversifying Southland’s economy had been a focus from the time the Southland
Regional Development Strategy was developed, and it remained that way, Collier said.
“Irrespective of whether Tiwai continued its operations or not, we had to think about the future of the region, and that enabled us to cast the net wide and look at where we could diversify the economy,” Collier said.
“Aquaculture has come onto the radar in the last few years and it gives us the opportunity to concentrate more on that, and tourism as well, attracting more people.”
He also cited Southland’s burgeoning space programme.
Alongside the opportunities ahead, there was significant and ongoing effort in ensuring the region had enough housing, though it was not an easy puzzle to fix, he said.
Great South chief executive Chami Abeysinghe said the Just Transitions work had initially started in the event the smelter did close, but it was always “hoped and intended” it would remain open.
“We are in a strong position to progress those opportunities [such as aquaculture and tourism], but with the added advantage we still have Tiwai adding to our economy and adding to our development opportunities. We are really delighted.”
Plans were in motion to address challenges around energy, housing, data and workforce needs, and there was a lot of work ahead, she said.