Head of Ta Ann's Tasmanian veneer mills calls for legislation to guarantee raw material supply, says AU$11M loss demonstrates importance of securing 265,000 m3/year of veneer logs
Wendy Lisney
LOS ANGELES
,
September 8, 2011
(Forestweb)
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Ta Ann is calling on the Tasmanian government to introduce resource security legislation for its veneer mills at Smithton, in the Northwest of the state, and in the Southern Huon region.
The Malaysian company reported an AU$11 million operating loss last financial year, which the company says demonstrates the importance of the legislation, ABC News reported on Sept. 6.
Director David Ridley, who heads Ta Ann's Tasmanian veneer mills, says the results were affected by the strong Australian dollar, declining global veneer demand and uncertainty created by the Statement of Principles forest peace deal process.
Ridley said legislation pledged by Premier Lara Giddings to guarantee the supply of 265 000 m3 of logs suitable for slicing into wood veneers would help the company to turn itself around. According to Ridley, the legislation is intended under the Statement of Principles and intergovernmental forest agreement.
The Greens say they will block the proposed legislation, while the opposition has indicated it will not make a commitment until it sees a draft.
The primary source of this article is ABC News, Hobart, Tasmania, on Sept. 6, 2011.
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