19/10/00
Forest Products Minister Paul Omodei today announced the successful negotiation of the first Business Exit from the jarrah sawmilling industry.
Mangee Milling closed the doors on its Bunbury sawmill last Friday.
Mr Omodei said that it was not easy to see established businesses close their operations but he was pleased that the WA Forest Industry Structural Adjustment Program (FISAP) was able to be used to assist businesses to exit with dignity.
Workers affected by the closure would have their redundancy entitlements topped up the Government to three weeks pay for each year of service.
FISAP is jointly administered with the Commonwealth Government, and Mr Omodei thanked the Commonwealth Minister for Forestry and Conservation, Wilson Tuckey for his cooperation with the program.
At the State level, the Forest Products Division of CALM worked with the Department of Commerce and Trade to put together the financial arrangements.
“Business exits are a key component of the strategy to reduce jarrah sawmilling to new levels under the RFA,” Mr Omodei said.
“Through this exit, contract volumes for jarrah sawlogs will be reduced by 4,600 cubic metres.
“A further 10 applications for business exits are currently being processed.
“The State and Commonwealth governments are also working on a range of proposals for industry developments which aim to increase value added processing and down stream manufacturing to replace employment lost from sawmills.
“Our approach to the restructure of the timber industry is to generate more value and more employment from smaller volumes of native hardwoods.
“Business exits from the milling side and business developments on the value adding side are the two necessary components of the program,” the Minister said.
Media contact:
Hugh Ryan 9213 6700
