The Treasury says it canât be sure the Government didnât reach a deal in the 1960s with Rio Tinto over the clean-up of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter that has since been mislaid.
A rumour was circulating at an electricity industry function hosted by Energy Minister Megan Woods in Parliament last week that a historic document setting out the smelterâs responsibilities had been lost.
However, most signs appear to point to the speculation being another piece of Southland mythology â similar to the decades-old tale that the builders of the Manapouri hydro scheme mistakenly left a bulldozer in one of its tail race tunnels before they flooded it.
Treasury can t rule out lost aluminium smelter agreement stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Willis asked Dr Woods in Parliament on Wednesday how she could justify using funds to purchase the land at IhumÄtao that were explicitly earmarked in Budget 2020 for KiwiBuild homes .
Budget 2020 states that the Land for Housing Programme is intended to facilitate the development of KiwiBuild affordable homes .Â
Dr Woods said Willis was confused and hadn t looked at the broader purpose of the Land for Housing Programme, which was to acquire land suitable for residential development that it can on-sell to developers .Â
In the case of the IhumÄtao deal, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the KÄ«ngitanga, the Crown and Auckland Council which sets out how the parties will work together to decide the future of the land.