While painting his vision for Eden-Monaro as a national flagship of renewable energy local MP Mike Kelly said he doubted that the South East Fibre Exports (SEFE) chip mill had much of a future. Source: Eden Magnet
“We need to diversify the base here. There is a very uncertain future for the chip mill. If you were a betting man you wouldn’t put money on their survival,” he said.
“If the chip mill fell over tomorrow, I’ve been working on a solution. Because of the Clean Energy Future program, we have a number of start-ups around the region using new technology.
“AKT Evolution is looking to expand their high technology recycling business and is prepared to make Eden the hub for their international effort. They’ve said to us if the chip mill fell over today they would take over the site. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll grow the business (AKTE) anyway.”
AKT Evolution is an Australian owned and operated waste management/recycling company that extracts nutrients from waste products.
However, this has all come as news to SEFE general manager Peter Mitchell, who acknowledges that they are still doing it tough, but they are working hard to secure a future through exporting iron ore from Eastern Iron.
“I heard Kelly said in a meeting last week in Bombala we (SEFE) would be finished by September. I think he’s being reckless. He’s making assumptions about our future without talking to us. We’ve got no intention of shutting down,” Mitchell said.
“IF – that’s a big if – there was some decision to phase out it wouldn’t happen overnight. We’ve got 5000 hectares of plantation that we would have to
utilise and we’ve got other obligations.”
“In the worst case scenario it would be a number of years and I don’t think that’s likely at this stage.”
Dr Rob Bain of local community group POEM, an ex-executive director of the National Association of Forest Industries for 11 years, also expressed concerns at Dr Kelly’s comments.
“If SEFE goes, Blueridge [timber mill in Eden] will close at the same time,” he said.
“That would mean a massive loss of local jobs. It’s not just the workers on the plant [SEFE] – for every one of those there are five or six others in the community.
“If you couldn’t sell the low quality logs (for wood chip), the economics of harvesting and regeneration doesn’t work. Even from a Green point of view, if you stop taking the chip logs and you subsidise Blueridge (to keep it open) you will degrade the forests down here.”
