Readying the Rio Tinto Subsidy
Problem is ministers have become spooked.
If they had strong guts they should simply call Rio Tinto’s bluff (as Key originally signalled would be the case).
If the aluminium company walks away the price of electricity will come down (no bad thing) and Meridian will have the potential to market renewable power to attract other energy-hungry international users like data centres instead of a company which just adds to our carbon emissions profile.
It’s fair to say that Rio Tinto [] believes it has the Key Government by the short and curlies as it endeavours to get the New Zealand taxpayer to subsidise its operations at Tiwai Point, instead of either ponying up the running costs itself, or closing the smelter if it is indeed uneconomic for the longer-term.
Not just April Fools’.