Why Did the Aramoana Smelter Not Proceed?

Abstract

The Aramoana smelter proposal of 1980-1983 sparked a major New Zealand environmental controversy, which ended in the abandonment of the project and the protection of Aramoana with reserve status.  What led to this result?  There is a widespread perception that the collapse of the project was due solely to economic factors rather than the energetic “Save Aramoana Campaign” against the smelter.  I reconsider and reevaluate the evidence, and argue that while the economic factors were undoubtedly important, the protest movement was also influential on the final outcome.