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Danny O'Brien questions Minister for Regional Development about plans to attract new jobs as Gippsland timber industry gets shutdown

Danny O'Brien questions the Minister for Regional Development about the government's plans to attract industries to Gippsland following the accelerated shutdown of the timber industry, expressing concerns about job losses and impact.

By news@gippsland - 23rd May 2023 - Back to News

My question is to the Minister for Regional Development, and I ask: what industries will the government be seeking to bring to Gippsland now that it has brought forward dramatically the shutdown of the native timber industry to January 2024? We have already lost major employers like Hazelwood, with Yallourn to come; we have seen the shutdown of white paper manufacturing at Maryvale; and now the timber industry will be gone in just over six months.

The absence of forestry contractors increases the risk of forest fires, while rising hardwood demand leads to increased timber imports, posing environmental concerns

This will damage Gippsland towns, cost jobs and cost livelihoods. The loss of forestry contractors will see the forest burn when the next fires break out, and strong demand for hardwood will simply see more timber imported from overseas, where there is less environmental regulation than we have here. It is a bad day to be an orangutan. What a farce, what a disgrace and what better evidence that the once great Labor Party that used to support blue-collar workers is now more interested in out-greening the inner-city Greens.

Pictures from Timber Towns Victoria Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com