Billy Brown continues clinging to the big Marsden Point closure lie

OPINION: There comes a point when a political talking point has been disproved so thoroughly that continuing to repeat it becomes impossible to defend as simple political spin. New Zealand First’s Rotorua candidate Billy Brown has reached that point with Marsden Point.

Brown has claimed Labour “approved shutting it down and called it progress towards net zero” a statement he has published publicly while campaigning for Parliament. The claim has appeared on his social media, including LinkedIn, where it remains attached to an authorised campaign message.

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There is just one major problem. The documented record does not support it and thisquality disproved the misinformation he continues to spread to his followers.

Image: Decommissioned oil refinery at Marsden Point, New Zealand. View from One Tree Point. The refinery operated from 1964 to 2022. (synthetick / Adobe Stock)

Marsden Point was not Labour’s refinery to close. The Treasury confirmed in April that the refinery was not owned or operated by the Government and that the Crown held no shares in it at or around the time of closure.

Refining NZ announced in July 2021 that converting Marsden Point into an import terminal and ending refining operations required approval from its shareholders. The company cited weak refining margins, international oversupply, competitiveness problems and its customers’ preference for an import model among the reasons behind the proposal.

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Shareholders approved the conversion on August 6, 2021. Refining NZ later reported that 99 percent of votes supported it.

After agreements were reached with bp, Mobil and Z Energy, the company’s board made the final investment decision to proceed.

Labour can absolutely be attacked for failing to intervene. Ministers can be accused of making the wrong call on fuel security, abandoning domestic refining capacity or refusing to spend public money to keep Marsden Point operating. Government documents themselves dealt with Refining NZ’s planned closure and considered the consequences of New Zealand losing domestic refining.

That argument is legitimate.

Image: The documented ownership record points in another direction. Marsden Point was operated by the publicly listed Refining NZ, which became Channel Infrastructure when the site moved to import-terminal operations in April 2022. A Treasury OIA response later confirmed the refinery was not owned or operated by the Government and that the Crown held no shares in it at or around the time of its closure. (File. / Supplied / Facebook / Billy Brown)

Pretending Labour actually approved the company’s closure is not.

The net-zero claim is similarly misleading. Refining NZ itself promoted the conversion as delivering major reductions in its direct carbon emissions and allowing the company to participate in New Zealand’s decarbonising energy market. Those claims came from the company selling shareholders on its proposed future business model.

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Brown is listed by New Zealand First as its Rotorua candidate. Someone seeking a seat in Parliament should be able to distinguish between a Government refusing to rescue a private company and a Government approving that company’s decision.

The same challenge applies to everyone else still pushing the ‘Marsden Point myth’ because it makes a convenient attack line.

The shareholders voted and the board made the final decision. The Crown did not own the refinery.

Image: NZ First candidate Billy Brown has falsely blamed Labour for approving the Marsden Point Oil Refinery shutdown, despite official records showing Refining NZ made the closure decision and Cabinet chose not to intervene. (New Zealand First)

Brown can keep repeating the big lie, but repetition will never turn it into history.

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