National discards forestry workers

National’s Bill English yesterday offered nothing to up to 120 forestry workers who are going to lose their jobs at Rotorua’s Tachikawa sawmill.

“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 “says Labour Leader and Regional Development Spokesperson David 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.

“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. New Zealand needs to understand why timber processing is struggling and what can be done to build better downstream timber industries.

 “Too often we produce fine raw materials but export them in their raw state only to see others add more value and capture downstream markets. I am sick and tired of exporting raw logs and Kiwi jobs.

“Forestry is in trouble. Its safety record is under a dark cloud with too many workers being killed or maimed.And now we find hundreds more workers being sacked through no fault of their own because processing has become ‘uneconomic‘ under National.

“That’s just not good enough. We need an urgent review of the timber industry before more Kiwi workers are sacked or maimed “David Cunliffe said .

“The closure of the Tachikawa mill will have a devastating effect on the workers, their families and whanau and the Rotorua community.

“I understand there could still be a chance to continue the mill as a going concern and the jobs it provides can be saved. However this will require a pro-active government working alongside the local council, iwi, private investors and the worker’s union.

“I have asked Rotorua’s buddy MP Moana Mackey and Forestry Spokesperson Shane Jones to attend a meeting in Rotorua tomorrow morning to discuss saving the mill.

“I understand that Tachikawa and other mill owners have been advising the government for some time that the economic recipe of a high dollar and high log prices is crippling local industry. I am also concerned about reports that imports of cheap timber are damaging the local market.”

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