Tourism eyes on chip mill
Tourism eyes on chip mill
EMMA HOPE | May 15, 2011 12.01am
THE Triabunna woodchip mill may be sold to tourism operators and permanently closed, further impacting on Tasmania's already fragile forestry industry.
The Gunns-owned East Coast mill may be sold to a consortium of tourism operators, possibly financed by the environmental movement, The Weekend Australian reported yesterday.
Opposition forestry spokesman Peter Gutwein said the mill closure at Triabunna would spell the end of Tasmania's entire native forests industry, including family-owned sawmills.
"If environmental players are involved in a potential deal to buy the mill and then close it down, it also represents an incredible betrayal of the industry by the environment movement, who are meant to be involved in good-faith negotiations with the industry," he said.
The woodchip mill has been temporarily closed because of a lack of market for native forest woodchips.
The mill is for sale as part of Gunns Limited's move out of native forests and into plantations.
Resources Minister Bryan Green said the future of the mill was a matter for Gunns but the Government acknowledge it was important infrastructure and he wanted to see it as an ongoing operation.
Also yesterday, Opposition Leader Will Hodgman welcomed the Government's announcement of a review of Forestry Tasmania.
"This belated announcement by the Premier is a welcome adoption of Liberal policy to review the operations of Forestry Tasmania, which I announced in my budget reply last year," Mr Hodgman said.
On Friday, Premier Lara Giddings said Forestry Tasmania would be subject to a review, its first since it was formed in 1994.
Tenders for the review have opened and are expected to come from consultancy firms nationwide and overseas.
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