Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First.

As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”.

They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut the Kinleith’s paper machine and move to a paper import model for their packaging operations.

The most significant reason for this is that they say manufacturing paper has become unprofitable. And further, that paper production at Kinleith Mill has suffered significant losses for several years – with very little hope in these current circumstances to see any real changes.

That is what the present government has inherited.

It is said, one of the major reasons for the lack of economic viability is the out-of-control power prices being felt and realised by all New Zealanders, but in particular our regional manufacturing industries.

What we are seeing is the very real realisation of those costs affecting not only this community but many others in a similar position around our country.

Mills are closing rapidly in NZ and if there is not the right reaction from government, there is more to come.

This is like the insurance companies, putting up insurance levies with little regard to present economic circumstances.

We recently witnessed the shutting down of Winstone Pulp in the Ruapehu District.

The 230 workers from those two mills lost their jobs after the company confirmed in September that it would be closing its doors for good because it couldn't sustain the high wholesale power prices.

The roll-on effect is substantial.  Winstone was the main employer in the central North Island region, with most of its workers living in Raetihi, Ohakune and Waiouru.

Some of those workers have moved to Australia to find jobs.

It was obvious then, and is obvious now, that if the Electricity Authority did not work harder to regulate power prices we would see more of these job losses and reduction in our capacity in our country to manufacture.

Kinleith Mill’s proposed reduction in over 200 jobs will see a devastation for Tokoroa’s community.  It will see younger generations who have held hopes for work and a career in the Mill no longer seem viable.

We all know the downstream effects will harm the whole community. It’s the truck drivers, cab drivers, local cafes, eateries, small businesses, and all of those families that rely on the mill.

The local people understand that Kinleith is acts as the lifeblood of Waikato.

New Zealand First has always held firm with the belief that targeted government intervention is sometimes necessary to ensure the survival of a business and community – for the sake of our country’s long term economy and productivity, as well as the future of local jobs and local communities.

We will not become a high-skill, high-wage economy while we continue with such a hands-off approach to our industries.

The fact is if we don’t come up with a solution it won’t just effect Tokoroa, but there will be adverse effects right across Waikato and the rest of New Zealand.

Now’s the time for both businesses and the Government to get real about the crisis before us and work to reverse it.

It is said that a decision will be made in February to cease cardboard production at Kinleith after more than 60 years. There will be no local production available for Kiwifruit boxes all of which will be imported.

A country where we once used to have a cutting edge advantage to every business and home owner, has seen one of the great advantages of New Zealand over the years sabotaged against the interest of nearly all of our population. That great advantage decades ago was low energy costs to household and business.

Today New Zealanders continue to face higher electricity transmission costs.

The result of all this unnecessary increased volatility, will undermine further investment in New Zealand. In this sea of disorganised, unchecked uncertainty, instability in the energy sector for the next decade has serious consequences. It will scare off the very investment New Zealand needs to bring about a phased transition to a carbon-neutral economy. At the same time it will lead to disproportionally high job losses in the regions.

Workers and their families matter. Particularly over the years when they have put together the finest products in the world. And yet, here in this hall today you are wondering, “what on earth have we done wrong?”

Ladies and gentlemen, I did not come here tonight to talk to anybody else except those who really matter. That is the workers and families whose jobs, incomes, present and future dreams are dependent on Kinleith Mill.

In other words, I’m only interested in what you think.

I’m here today to talk with the workers.

It’s most important that this consultation about the future of Kinleith is with you the workers, and more importantly there is an opportunity for a real solution to maintain this company and your jobs.

Ladies and gentlemen, you’re being asked to “live to work”, not “work to live” - working for a decent life. 

In 2011 and 2020, I visited Invercargill and Tiwai Point to state New Zealand First’s support for the ongoing production of the smelter and its thousands of associated workers.

How circumstances have changed.  In 2020 every party was supporting Tiwai Point’s closure.  But they aren’t saying that today are they?

No, Tiwai Point is still thriving, and one political party has saved it.  And the party that did that, you are looking at right now.

I’ve watched down through the decades New Zealand’s great businesses being dealt blow after blow because of the reliance of ideology over common sense.

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve watched over the years electricity pricing, from the Max Bradford’s 1998 electricity reforms, which instead of making electricity costs plateau – made them vertical. Straight up. Alongside privatisations and a massive bureaucracy at an extortionate cost of electricity to business and homeowners.

The major generators have had no regards for national interest and even less regard for you. The result has been appalling examples of exploitative behaviour, and from a national interest lens, by generators, including managing capacity or events to maximise prices and profits, whilst appearing blind to the impact on households and businesses.

We believe you, the workers, need a longer period of consultation to really understand the potential alternatives to stopping paper production completely.

Ladies and gentlemen, as leader of New Zealand First we will be listening to your unions, your employers, and local leaders.

We are here tonight to listen, to do everything our party can to advocate for you, to work with you, and to ensure we see an opportunity to come to a real solution, not only for Kinleith, but for the future of our industries around our country.