Bath fights for Gippsland mills
Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath has taken her f ight to save Gippsland’s native timber industry to sawmills at Noojee and Drouin West.
After visiting the A.G.Brown mills last week Ms Bath said she and her Nationals colleagues in State parliament would scrap Labor’s “idealistic decision to shut the industry” if the Liberal-Nationals coalition was successful at the next election.
The State government has set 2030 as the deadline for the end to logging of native forests.
Ms Bath said the two sawmills and staff were highly impressive.
A highlight for her, she said, was meeting and talking with employee Melissa Halligan, the only female saw doctor in Australia.
Ms Bath said the aim of the visit was to get a better understanding of the work and the highend timber products manufactured in West Gippsland. It was a privilege to watch the teams in action, she said.
Mr Bath said A.G.Brown Sawmills produce timber for quality hardwood window frames, bench tops, cupboards, furniture, stair cases, balustrades, hand rails and posts that grace thousands of homes across Australia.
However, the employees are a threatened species because of the government plans to close the native timber industry, she said.
Ms Bath said the industry was an important contributor to Australia’s building industry as well as supporting tens of thousands of jobs in Victoria.
World class timber products are produced here under stringent regulations and instead of canning local jobs the government should be supporting, embracing and promoting the industry, she added.