\nPhoto \/ Marty Melville<\/p>\n
The plant is scheduled to cease operations on January 31, 2027, after the year\u2019s processing and packing season.<\/p>\n
Green MP Steve Abel said food-processing facilities should be protected for the broader national good.
\nPhoto \/ Marty Melville<\/p>\n
During a recent visit to Hastings, Greens MP and Primary Production Committee member Steve Abel<\/a> was asked what the Greens would do about food-processing plants closing in Hawke\u2019s Bay and nationwide.<\/p>\n He said food resilience and security were a high priority for the party.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not averse to the idea that there are instances where strategic assets, such as a food-processing facility, should be protected for the broader national good, and if that means some public investment, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n Abel said the party didn\u2019t have a specific policy yet, but said it was top of the party\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenges that we\u2019re facing with loss of mills and food-processing facilities with the energy price issues \u2013 we have specific strategies to address all of those things.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be a failure of politics if we can\u2019t protect local food production, local jobs associated with that, and the ability of us as a nation to simply feed ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about Abel\u2019s comments, National Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd had a blunt response.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Green Party was part of a Government that banned oil and gas exploration, reduced domestic energy supply and significantly drove up energy costs for households and businesses across New Zealand,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow Mr Abel is talking about taxpayer-funded solutions to fix problems his party helped create.\u201d<\/p>\n Wedd said the Government had committed $50,000 for the first stage of a feasibility study<\/a> to assess what is actually required for a grower-led purchase of the site to be \u201ccommercially viable\u201d.<\/p>\n They were regularly getting updates on the \u201ccomplex and challenging situation\u201d.<\/p>\n Dan Scott, Labour\u2019s candidate for Tukituki,<\/a> said food processing had been the source of secure jobs in the region for generations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe closure of the McCain\u2019s vegetable-processing plant, just weeks after Wattie\u2019s announced similar plant closures, is devastating for Hawke\u2019s Bay workers, and a damning indictment of this Government\u2019s jobs record.\u201d<\/p>\n He said power prices had been crushing energy-intensive industries and had been a key reason for several companies closing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer is to invest in home-grown renewable generation, which means affordable, reliable power and lower bills for households and businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n NZ First candidate Taine Randell<\/a> and his family ran an energy-intensive freeze-drying business in Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n He said in 2022, it was consuming over one million kilowatt-hours per month at about 8c per kWh.<\/p>\n When rates went up last year, Randell said the price had risen to more than 23c per kWh.<\/p>\n He said there was no point in any Government acquiring any businesses if the power price was going to make those companies \u201cbasically uneconomic\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe energy sector is the key issue with food processing, with manufacturing in Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe consume per capita well above the national average in terms of energy because we\u2019re such a manufacturing and food-processing hub.<\/p>\n \u201cNo point in being able to produce the best food in the world if we can\u2019t process it, and ultimately that\u2019s come down to a failure in our energy sector.\u201d<\/p>\n Randell said NZ First would break up the four gentailers and build renewable electricity resources with the back-up capacity to make it viable.<\/p>\n Opportunity Party (TOP) candidate Rachel Ward<\/a> said all parties should come together on diagnosing, mitigating and future-proofing food-processing security.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of energy has come up time and time again with factory shutdowns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ward said TOP had an \u201cAbundant Energy policy\u201d, which she said would bring energy prices down in the medium term.<\/p>\n The party was supportive of developing a national food security strategy to properly develop a plan for issues Hawke\u2019s Bay processors were facing.<\/p>\nTukituki MP Catherine Wedd, left, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
Dan Scott, Labour’s candidate for Tukituki.
\nPhoto \/ Labour Party<\/p>\nFormer All Black Taine Randell will be contesting the Tukituki electorate for NZ First this election. Photo \/ Adam Pearse<\/p>\n
The Opportunity Party’s candidate for Tukituki, Rachel Ward.<\/p>\n
Kaleb Hawkins has announced he will run as an independent for the Tukituki electorate. <\/p>\n