Labour is calling for an inquiry into the economics of forestry processing with leader David Cunliffe saying importing timber for the Christchurch rebuild while New Zealand mills were closing was “lunacy”. Sources: Stuff.co.nz, Fairfax NZ News, Timberbiz
“Labour refuses to give up on these valuable workers in the timber processing industry. Today I am calling for an urgent review of the timber processing sector,” said Labour leader David Cunliffe.
“New Zealand needs to understand why timber processing is struggling and what can be done to build better downstream timber industries.”
It has emerged that Rotorua’s Tachikawa Forest Products had been placed in receivership threatening up to 120 jobs with the company unable to secure log supply.
Prime Minister John Key said Tachikawa was not reflective of the whole industry.
“One thing I understand is that the issues are quite specific to that mill, there’s some issue there.
“Secondly, the advice I’ve had from those who know is that they are likely to try and sell it is a going concern, so certainly we would be hopeful that those workers would be able to stay with a new owner of that mill,” he said.
Finance Minister Bill English said that with the economy picking up, even if the jobs were lost, the workers should be able to find employment elsewhere.
“On TVNZ’s Q and A, the minister told the workers they were not important enough. Bill English finds it too easy to kick for touch while hundreds of Kiwi families pay the price of economic failure “said Cunliffe.
“Bill English told New Zealanders that the Rotorua workers can find work elsewhere with unemployment close to 6% and much worse in the regions that’s an obscene cop out.”
Key said he wasn’t denying more could be done.
“The Government’s always look at things to work on, but at the end of the day, the basic plan we’ve had of rolling out infrastructure… from ultra fast broadband to better roading to support the regions I think has been a very positive thing,” he said.
Cunliffe said the government’s answer to the problem of job loses in other regions was simply to tell workers to move to Christchurch or Auckland and demonstrated that jobs in the regions were being undermined.
