Matthew Denholm; 8/8/08
The Rudd Government has torn up a $4.5million funding deal with Gunns Ltd, accusing the timber giant of breaching a commitment not to make redundancies at sawmills in northeast Tasmania. About $2million of the funding deal had already been advanced to try to keep the two mills at Scottsdale operating amid uncertainty about long-term pine log resources. However, federal Industry Minister Kim Carr suspended further payments last month, after Gunns announced one of the mills, at Tonganah, would close with the loss of 130 jobs. Senator Carr yesterday announced he would terminate the deal. Instead, he promised the remaining funds, thought to be about $2.5million, would be used on projects to help create jobs in Tasmania’s northeast. “The Australian Government’s priority now is to ensure new job opportunities are created in the region,” Senator Carr said.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24145956-5013404,00.html
Tags: Australia, Environment