Fight for Fairness co-ordinator Carla Forbes has been frustrated with the "government narrative" around the closure of the plant.
"The window of opportunity is slim, and probably unlikely but it is too important not to make some noise, and fight for our community," she said.
" I don’t know what that looks like, but I can assure you there is a ferocious appetite to support Tiwai and Southland."
Mrs Forbes believed the Government should explore all options before focusing on
job creation in other sectors in the region.
"Our very ‘empathetic’ Government will no doubt come and stand in solidarity with Southland. I’m sure we’ll get some financial support, in an era of splashing out money to the regions."
She said ministerial statements saying taxpayers had been “subsidising” the smelter to stay open were a "load of rubbish".
Finance Minister Grant Robertson last week said taxpayers had been subsidising Rio Tinto, either directly or indirectly through cheaper power and emissions trading scheme allocations of more than $48million a year.
"The company has made the decision not to keep operating without further subsidies," he said last week.
Mrs Forbes said the "Government has been very careful in its language and using emotive words like ‘subsidise’ inferred Rio Tinto has been getting a handout.
"That’s not the case. It is a commercial contract. Meridian Energy and Rio Tinto negotiate the terms of that contract — there are no handouts.
"The $30million that Tiwai received which keeps getting brought up by the Government, time and time again, has been repaid innumerable times. I’d say a bloody good investment. "
In 2013, the then-National-led government gave the smelter operator a $30million sweetener to conclude its contract negotiations with Meridian Energy, soon after it threatened to close the smelter if it did not get a lower power price.
Then finance minister Bill English said the payment was a one-off. Then-prime minister John Key called it a stopgap measure, saying his government had no long-term interest in providing support to Rio Tinto.
The $30million "incentive payment" was at one stage described in Treasury documents as a "signing bonus" after noting Rio's aversion to the term "subsidies", the National Business Review reported then.
Mrs Forbes said the Government owned 51% of Meridian so could influence the outcome.
"It’s frustrating they’re creating a narrative that a closure is completely the decision of Rio Tinto, because it’s not accurate."
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Comments
Why waste time trying to change a decision that has been made overseas. Rio Tinto don't give a toss about Southland or even NZ, so put your energies into what can we do with the land, the electricity and some of the plant & infrastructure. Think outside of the square. There are opportunities we can take.
It cannot come soon enough stop wasting everyone's time this is exactly what Rio Tinto has been wanting to do for year's.