LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
WE, the Committee for Wellington, would like to show our support for Australian Sustainable Hardwoods and request that the Victorian Government and VicForests continue to work with ASH to deliver current supply commitments.
The closure of Australian Sustainable Hardwoods would have a devastating impact on not only the small town of Heyfield, but also the surrounding towns whose businesses support the mill operations and serve as service and retail providers for the region.
Heyfield was built on the timber industry, with current employees representing some 44 per cent of full time employment in the township and the business paying about $14 million in wages per annum.
Like many other Australian manufacturers, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods is competing against importations and lobby groups with vested interests in the industry being closed, regardless of cost to communities or the individuals directly affected.
With the imminent closure of Hazelwood, the additional pressure that the closure of Australian Sustainable Hardwoods would place on the region would be devastating, not only for employment and small business, but for the many charities and local sporting groups who rely on the support of the public and businesses like Australian Sustainable Hardwoods to exist.
Currently, the timber for Australian Sustainable Hardwoods comes from one 80th of the six per cent of the forestry area of Victoria, with 94 per cent not available for logging.
With VicForest not committing to continue supply to the business, the impact is not only on Heyfield and Gippsland, but to those reliant on the quality timber product made by ASH, with a reliance on substandard imported product being created product which cannot meet the quality or environmental standards that ASH provides.
This isn’t a simple business closure with little impact, but a business which around 7000 people, both upstream and downstream of the business, are reliant on.
Australian Sustainable Hardwoods is an extremely viable business, and one which continues to show commitment to the industry and the region by investing millions in its Gippsland operations.
We encourage the people of Gippsland to write to the Premier and Agriculture and Regional Development Minister asking them to show a commitment to the people of Gippsland by ensuring that VicForests continues to deliver to the businesses it was created to work with.
