Second smelter

Press, 28 April 1981, Page 16

Second smelter

Sir,—Mr Birch seems to be perpetually in conflict with statements concerning the second' smelter. He recently discussed a comparison between Australian and New Zealand electricity costs by quoting that our coal-fired electricity costs more than our hydroelectricity. That is true, but Australian coal-fired electricity costs less than our hydroelectricity because they have such readily accessible coal. This week, he conflicts with authoritative projections of' electricity supply and demand which predict a shortage in the mid-eighties. The timing of the start of operations of the second smelter before the new hydro scheme becomes operational . guarantees domestic power cuts. If oil was imported to generate electricity to reduce the shortage, then it would cost us $lOOO more in overseas funds than the smelter pays for the electricity, to smelt each tonne of metal. With Alcan now importing cheaper metal, New Zealand really gets the raw end of the deal—Yours, etc., R. HARMAN. April 23, 1981.

Sir,—Mr Hugh Fletcher (“The Press,” April 15) claims that his proposed smelter will provide 25,000 extra jobs whereas Professor Van Moeseke, Otago University economist, calculates it will only provide 6000. Throughout this debate the figures of the Government and Fletchers havebeen based on suspect reasoning. Whatever the case the original 1000” (actually 950) jobs at the smelter would cost $684,000 per job — nine times the amount needed to create the average job. People employed will generally be skilled tradespeople, not the school leavers so desperately in need of work. Surely the investment of this money into alternative developments in Otago such as agriculture, forestry, textiles and.manufacturing would provide many more jobs, for a wider range of people. It would also create more spin-off industries. This sort of development would not require the same vast use of publicly subsidised electricity and would be less damaging to the environment.—Yours, etc., PETER CLAYWORTH. April 23, 1981.