New Zealand: Fletcher Building, parent company of Golden Bay Cement, said that the local government had granted its unit up to US$35m to support its Northland operations. The agreement provides certainty for Golden Bay Cement's continued domestic manufacturing capability and planned decarbonisation pathway, Fletcher said. Golden Bay Cement operates New Zealand's only domestic cement plant at Portland, supplying about 60% of the cement used, and nearly 95% of the firm's output is sold domestically. Golden Bay Cement will now continue to produce cement at its Northland plant until at least 2040, and invest at least US$87.8m through to 2040.
Fletcher Building CEO and Managing Director Andrew Reding said “Without government support, increasing costs, including CO₂ emissions costs that our competitors importing cement from overseas do not currently incur at the same level, would likely have required us to close the plant and move to an import-only model from 2030."
In a separate statement, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis said the government ‘did not take this decision lightly’ and undertook ‘rigorous’ analysis of the situation, including the risk of setting a new precedent. "Ultimately, we concluded that this is an exceptional case, which meets the very high bar needed to justify taxpayer support, Willis said.
She said the country would have been left ‘massively exposed’ to global supply disruptions if the Golden Bay plant shut down, adding that "Cement has no practical substitutes. It is needed for the building of homes, hospitals, schools, roads and other nationally significant infrastructure. Any reductions in its availability could bring essential construction and infrastructure development, and the economic activity they support, to a standstill."
Cabinet ministers reportedly considered the case in May 2026 and included a ‘limited envelope of funds’ in the Budget's operating allowance. They have since been in negotiations with the company over the size of the grant and the conditions attached.
Willis said that ministers also considered alternative forms of relief to the costs imposed by the emissions trading scheme, but ultimately decided against that so as not to undermine the scheme's integrity.