The Andrews Government has sounded the death knell for the local timber industry with today’s cruel and ill-considered decision to accelerate the end of sustainable native logging.
The Nationals Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, said Labor’s call to bring an end to native logging by the end of the year would spell disaster for workers, their families and local timber towns.
“Without warning and without reason, Labor has pulled the rug from under a sustainable industry that contributes millions to the local economy, some seven years ahead of its own schedule, and thousands of workers and their families are now reeling.
“The suggestion that a single $200 million ‘support package’, that will be dripped out over four years, is enough to compensate workers and their communities is ludicrous, and the funding is woefully inadequate.“When the Maryvale Mill, the Valley’s biggest employer, was forced to cease production of white paper due to supply shortages, hundreds of jobs went with it – it’s clear now this was just the tip of the iceberg.
“Labor has failed to follow through on its 2019 pledge to help maintain the timber industry when native logging ends, and the promised plantations that were heralded as a cure-all to the subsequent supply shortages won’t materialise for decades.
“As a by-product of this callous call, market demand for an already scarce commodity will skyrocket and we’ll be solely reliant on imports for all hardwood. These imports will undoubtedly come from countries with far less regulated practices in place.
“Whichever way you spin it, this is a catastrophic outcome for workers, their families, and our timber towns that have been built and sustained by the logging industry.
“Labor has already left a trail of destruction across the Valley in the form of big broken promises and chronic under-spending, and this decision will result in another legacy of job losses and heartache.
“Victoria is broke, life is getting harder under Labor, and regional Victorians are wearing the cost of its financial incompetence.”
