Confidence ‘thinkbig’ will continue

Press, 16 November 1981, Page 6

Confidence ‘thinkbig’ will continue

PA Auckland Industry leaders are confident they can convince a Labour government to go ahead with the “think big” energy projects. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) wants to be convinced that the big energy projects will produce jobs quickly. Otherwise, he says, they will be either delayed or abandoned. Mr R. R. Trotter, chairman of Fletcher-Challenge, the main partner in the proposed Aramoana aluminium smelter, said he believed his company’s evidence would convince a Labour government.

“Labour has said before that if it is elected it will have to make a decision on some of these projects and will want to examine our evidence,” said Mr Trotter. “If our evidence will convince one government it will convince another. “But Aramoana will not be finalised before the General Election anyway, and so whatever government is

elected will have the oppor-, tunity to review the scheme.” The managing director of New Zealand Steel, Ltd, Mr J. H. Ingram, said the planned steel plant expansion would provide jobs immediately.

“At the moment engineering workshops in New. Zealand are empty. We would give them work, provided the job was not delayed, before Christmas,” said Mr Ingram. . “The project would earn foreign exchange after stage one was completed, which would take 30 months.

“Any sort of sound, economic activity contributes to growth. We are confident that when Mr Rowling sees our data he will support the expansion. -It would be a tragedy if there was any delay.” Mr Ingram said his company was New Zealandpwned and used New Zealand resources.

. “We use ironsand and coal. There is no other use for ironsand and little other use for coal.

; “I do not object to a Labour government haying a look at our information and I am confident we would have its support.”

The planning and supply director of Mobil Oil New Zealand, Ltd, Mr Wayne Makeig, said he would be astounded if a Labour government did not support his company’s proposed synthetic petrol plant. “It has not yet had the opportunity to understand it properly. I am sure, given the time and opportunity, we could bring Labour round to our point of view,” said Mr Makeig. “The project is tailormade for New Zealand. Mobil has a 25 per cent share in the project and the Government is backing the other 75 per cent. It is basically a New Zealand project. “We would have a peak work-force of about 1300 people on the site. I do not know whether Mr Rowling thinks that number of extra jobs would be worth while.”