❓ Mr Catania questions the Premier on the Greenbushes sawmill closure, linking it to the government's native forest logging ban. The Premier defends the policy, highlighting economic opportunities and transition programs for affected workers.
AnsweredQoN 279Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FORESTRY —
GREENBUSHES SAWMILL — CLOSURE
279. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Premier:
I
refer to the devastating news that after 128 years of operation, the
Greenbushes sawmill closed its doors yesterday.
(1) Can the
Premier confirm that this closure is a direct result of the government's
plan to shut down the sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia?
(2) Will the
Premier apologise for the comments made by his minister in 2019 that Parkside
Timber's investment in the mill would guarantee the jobs of the timber
workers in the area?
GREENBUSHES SAWMILL — CLOSURE
279. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Premier:
I
refer to the devastating news that after 128 years of operation, the
Greenbushes sawmill closed its doors yesterday.
(1) Can the
Premier confirm that this closure is a direct result of the government's
plan to shut down the sustainable native forest industry in Western Australia?
(2) Will the
Premier apologise for the comments made by his minister in 2019 that Parkside
Timber's investment in the mill would guarantee the jobs of the timber
workers in the area?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
think it was the day before the budget last year that the government announced
our policy for the next forest management plan. They roll over every five
years, and the government announced that we would not be continuing to log our
native forest. That is our policy. If the Liberals and Nationals want to take a
different policy forward and promote the restart of logging of our native
forests, that is up to them. That can be their policy if that is what they want
to do, and I take it from the tone of the member's comments that that
will be the opposition's policy in 2025, so the people of Western Australia
will have a clear choice: a government that does not want to log our native
forests, considering we have left around only 10
per cent of what was there prior to European settlement, versus an opposition
that wants to continue to log them. That is the opposition's
choice.
We actually have an incredibly
strong economy in Western Australia today, and we have a significant shortage
of workers in a lot of industries. The advice I have received is that there is
a range of industries that are looking to recruit people who have stopped
working in the forestry industry, and we are working cooperatively to connect
those people with those industries. For instance, the Talison Lithium mine in
Greenbushes is looking to recruit more people who are leaving jobs in the
forestry industry.
One thing about forestry workers is
that they work hard, and it is a difficult job. Historically, it was a very
dangerous job. It still has elements of risk, when we think about the nature of
the industry. If the men and women in that industry can transition to
industries that pay more, provide more secure work for the long term, and do
not destroy forests, would that not be a good thing? At the same time, we are
spending $400 million on a transition program to move into plantations and to
assist communities, businesses and individuals with that transition, and
because we have managed the state's finances well, we can do that. This
is one of the benefits of good economic and financial management: we can do
things like this and set the state up for the future so that we stop knocking
our forests over and provide the climate benefit that Western Australia can
provide and a huge tourism benefit to people who want to actually look at the
forests, rather than destroy them.
From
my point of view, that is one of the best things we can do. We did that back in
2001, when we stopped the logging of
old-growth forests; now we are going further than that. But the great thing—and
I am getting advice on this all the time—is
that the people who are leaving this work are going into other industries and
are being provided with opportunities that will pay them higher incomes than
the jobs they currently have.
We are also putting money into
transition programs, and training and redundancy payments for the workforce
that is affected; that is a good thing as well. We are making sure that people
in an industry that does not have a long-term
future because of the nature of our drying climate can transition, at an
opportune time, into other industries and other jobs that can provide
them with a more sustainable future.
think it was the day before the budget last year that the government announced
our policy for the next forest management plan. They roll over every five
years, and the government announced that we would not be continuing to log our
native forest. That is our policy. If the Liberals and Nationals want to take a
different policy forward and promote the restart of logging of our native
forests, that is up to them. That can be their policy if that is what they want
to do, and I take it from the tone of the member's comments that that
will be the opposition's policy in 2025, so the people of Western Australia
will have a clear choice: a government that does not want to log our native
forests, considering we have left around only 10
per cent of what was there prior to European settlement, versus an opposition
that wants to continue to log them. That is the opposition's
choice.
We actually have an incredibly
strong economy in Western Australia today, and we have a significant shortage
of workers in a lot of industries. The advice I have received is that there is
a range of industries that are looking to recruit people who have stopped
working in the forestry industry, and we are working cooperatively to connect
those people with those industries. For instance, the Talison Lithium mine in
Greenbushes is looking to recruit more people who are leaving jobs in the
forestry industry.
One thing about forestry workers is
that they work hard, and it is a difficult job. Historically, it was a very
dangerous job. It still has elements of risk, when we think about the nature of
the industry. If the men and women in that industry can transition to
industries that pay more, provide more secure work for the long term, and do
not destroy forests, would that not be a good thing? At the same time, we are
spending $400 million on a transition program to move into plantations and to
assist communities, businesses and individuals with that transition, and
because we have managed the state's finances well, we can do that. This
is one of the benefits of good economic and financial management: we can do
things like this and set the state up for the future so that we stop knocking
our forests over and provide the climate benefit that Western Australia can
provide and a huge tourism benefit to people who want to actually look at the
forests, rather than destroy them.
From
my point of view, that is one of the best things we can do. We did that back in
2001, when we stopped the logging of
old-growth forests; now we are going further than that. But the great thing—and
I am getting advice on this all the time—is
that the people who are leaving this work are going into other industries and
are being provided with opportunities that will pay them higher incomes than
the jobs they currently have.
We are also putting money into
transition programs, and training and redundancy payments for the workforce
that is affected; that is a good thing as well. We are making sure that people
in an industry that does not have a long-term
future because of the nature of our drying climate can transition, at an
opportune time, into other industries and other jobs that can provide
them with a more sustainable future.
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